A New Chance
by writing24
Summary: A story about Tony and Michelle takes place directly after season 2
1. Chapter 1

**Thanks for taking the time to read my story. This is a long first chapter. Some bad language. Please take the time review my story and let me know if you would like me to continue. Thanks!**

**I do not own 24 etc...**

**This story takes place directly after season 2. **

Michelle sat back down at her desk, she was supposed to be gathering her things to head home but she didn't want to. The thought of going home to her empty apartment made her feel sick to her stomach. Her brother had been transferred to the local hospital for observation and so she couldn't even have his company. She looked back up at Tony's office, the blinds were drawn and he still hadn't come out. She thought he would have left by now as well, surely he was too tired to keep on working.

Tony had started to pack up his desk and get ready to go home but now that everything had calmed down he couldn't stop thinking about everything that had happened in the last 24 hours. Especially the last few hours where he had crossed the line in so many ways and had Michelle help him do it. What if Jack had been wrong? He and Michelle would be in jail right now. He cared for her so deeply, he was so angry with himself for putting her in such a bad position.

She had come to mean more to him over the last year than anyone ever had. He tried to make out like his feelings were casual but they were anything but that, he loved her, he knew he did. He would do anything for her. He hated that he hadn't had the courage to make a move a long time ago but up until today he never really thought he had a chance with her. Just about every guy in the office wanted Michelle, what made him think he would be the one she would fall for? He thought about when he had been sitting in the holding cell with her and the sick feeling returned to his stomach. For the first time since all this mess started he thought he was going to really cry. He pushed his eyes into his palms and tried to squash the tears. He didn't even hear the knock on his door.

Michelle slowly opened Tony's office door, expecting to find him on the phone. She was surprised to see him hunched over his desk with his face in his hands.

"Tony?"

He slowly lifted his head and it made her heart skip a beat when she saw his eyes were red and watery. He tried to wipe them immediately but it was too late, she could already tell he was crying. Unable to find the right words she made her way over to him. She stood to the side of him and ran her hand soothingly across his back.

He kept his head concentrated on the desk. His voice was raspy and broken. "Sorry. I ummm...I am ok. Sorry."

"Don't be sorry Tony. What can I do?"

"Nothing. I'll be fine. I am just tired. Really."

"Tony.."

"Seriously Michelle, I am fine. I thought you had taken your brother home?"

Michelle took her hand off his back and sat on the edge of his desk, much like he always did on hers. "They decided to transfer him to the hospital to keep an eye on him."

"So what are you still doing here? You should be at home getting some sleep Michelle."

"I could ask you the same thing."

He stood up and straightened himself out. He was embarrassed she had found him like this and didn't really know how to recover from the situation. He turned to face her. "I shouldn't have put you in that position today Michelle. I am sorry."

"What are you talking about Tony? You didn't make me do anything. I am the one that went behind your back to help Jack. I thought it was the right thing to do. I am just grateful for everything you did for me today."

"Yeah but I could have got you in a lot of trouble. You don't deserve the hell you went through today and I should have looked out for you more."

"Tony, you were there for me when no one else was. God, I totally broke down in front of you today and you got me through it. I don't know what I would have done if I didn't have you today."

This made him smile a little. He studied her for a moment before gently placing a hand on her shoulder. "Are you feeling a little better about things?"

Michelle could feel herself blush just at his touch. "Yeah, thanks. But I worried about you Tony."

"I don't want you to worry about me, I'll be ok." He dropped his hand. "Umm, I know you must be so tired and all but would you want to go and get a coffee or something?"

Michelle nodded her head. That was exactly what she wanted, the thought of going home right now was the last thing she wanted to do. "I'd really like that. I'll just go get my bag?"

"Great, I'll meet you downstairs in a few minutes."

Michelle hurried out of the office and straight to the bathrooms to fix herself up a little before grabbing her bag. On the way out of the rest rooms she bumped into Jay. He caught her off guard by putting his arm around her shoulders and pulling her in close. "Hey Michelle, let me take you home, you must be exhausted."

Michelle tried to take a step back but he held her tightly. "What are you doing Jay? Take your arms off me."

He laughed and removed his arm. "Hey, hey..I'm just trying to be nice. It has been a long day."

"Well thank you, but no thank you. I have my own car."

"Let me buy you a coffee then?"

Michelle bent over and picked up her bag. "No thanks." She didn't wait for a response before turning to head toward the car park. She could feel him follow her and once they were in the quiet of the hallway he grabbed her arm forcing her to stop. "What is your problem Michelle? I am just trying to be nice. You can't even have a coffee with me?"

"You are hurting me Jay, let me go. I told you no. How many times do I have to tell you I am not interested in going out with you."

"Then maybe you should stop looking at me the way you do. You are so obvious you want something and I am getting a little tired of you playing games."

Michelle looked around for anyone to help her. His grip was so tight on her it was sending a pain right up her arm. "I'm not playing any games with you, I never have. I have no interest in you, I never have. Let me go or I'll have you up for harassment."

She could feel tears forming in her eyes and his body was closing in on hers. Suddenly she heard Tony's voice shout. "HEY!"

She turned around to see Tony rushing toward them. Jay let her arm go and took a step back. Tony came right up and stood between them. "What the hell is going on?"

Jay smirked. "Nothing."

Tony looked at Michelle who was clearly distressed. "Are you ok?"

"He won't leave me alone. He keeps asking me out and I have told him no a hundred times."

Tony turned back to Jay. "I saw you grabbing Michelle. You want to be up on charges for sexual harassment?"

Jay put his hands up in the air. "Hey hey, it's not like that. She has been playing games with me for months. One minute she wants me the next she is playing hard to get..."

Tony took a step towards Jay so that he was right up in his face. "Well it is clear now; she wants nothing to do with you so back the fuck off. If I hear of you giving her any trouble again you will be out of here on your ass so fast."

Jay shook his head and began to walk off. Tony and Michelle could hear him mutter "Slut" under his breath.

Tony turned back to Michelle. "Oh my God, are you ok? Let me see your arm."

Michelle couldn't hold back the tears any longer, she was so grateful for Tony coming to her rescue. Without even thinking she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. She could feel him immediately pull her in tightly and run his hands up and down her back. He whispered into her ear "It's ok, it's ok, he won't bother you again, and I'll make sure of it."

"Thank you Tony. Thank you, I didn't know what to do."

He half pulled out of the hug but kept his arm across her shoulder as he led her to the car park. "Come on, let's get out of here."

Once they reached the garage, Tony started to steer her towards his car. "I'll drive, we can worry about your car later, ok?"

Michelle just nodded. He opened the door for her and she climbed in. Once they were both seated, he took he arm, pulled up the sleeve to see a huge bruise forming from where Jay had held her. "Fucking prick. I didn't realise he had you so hard, I'm going to suspend that asshole."

"I'm ok..."

"Look what he has done to you Michelle. That is not ok. But I don't want you to worry about it, I'll take care of it. Does it hurt?"

"It did when he was doing it but it feels alright now."

Tony shook his head. He felt sick thinking about someone hurting Michelle like that. It made his blood boil he was so angry. He made a vow to himself that he would never let anyone hurt Michelle ever again. He was going to look after her...if she let him. He started up the car and began to drive toward a coffee shop.

As they drove, Tony' sister Jess called him on his cell. She sounded panicked and Tony pulled the car off to the side of the road to take the call so he could concentrate. It took him a few moments of telling Jess to calm down before he could understand what she was even saying. She had just broken up with her boyfriend and it had turned really ugly. He had trashed her apartment and threatened to beat the hell out her if she didn't take him back. His heart sank. Jess was only 20 and Tony was very protective of her. He told her he would be there in a few minutes. He hung up the phone and turned to Michelle. He explained what was happening.

"I am so sorry Tony."

"I need to go over there, I am sorry about coffee."

"Don't worry about that Tony, you need to be there for Jess. Just drop me off and go and be with her."

Tony shook his head. "No, I don't want you to be on your own either."

"I'll be fine Tony..."

"No. You have been through hell today and then all that shit that just happened with Jay. I don't want to leave you. Would you mind coming with me?" Truth be told, he didn't want to be apart from Michelle himself. He felt like he needed her.

Michelle offered Tony a small smile. "Of course I don't mind."

They spent the rest of the trip talking about Jess and the situation. Tony filled Michelle in on his sister and as much of the situation as he knew. He apologised profusely and Michelle continued to tell him to stop worrying about it and to just concentrate on making sure Jess was ok. She could tell how tired and emotionally drained Tony was. He was being a lot more open about his feelings then he ever was at work and she felt concerned for how stressed he seemed. She was drained as well. She didn't think she would be able to sleep now even if she tried. She didn't want to close her eyes and have to think about everything that had happened.

* * *

When they arrived at Jess's apartment, Tony introduced Michelle before they had even stepped in the doorway. Jess threw her arms around Tony and was reduced to tears at just the sight of him. She didn't seem to mind Michelle was there at all, and by the way she greeted she greeted her, Michelle could tell Tony must have mentioned her to his sister before. That made her feel good. They walked into the apartment and both Tony and Michelle were shocked by what they saw. Everything was all over the place. Papers were all over the floor, lamps had been smashed on the ground, the TV was on the floor broken, and the place was completely trashed. Tony repeatedly asked Jess if she was ok and if her boyfriend Sam had touched her. She continued to say that she hadn't been hurt but she was sure he would be back. She was scared to be on her own. Tony and Michelle promised her they would look after her and make sure she was ok.

After having Jess explain everything to Tony again, he excused himself to call the police and make a report. That left Jess and Michelle sitting at the counter alone. Michelle placed her hand on top of Jess's.

"I am so sorry this has happened."

"I am sorry I interrupted you and Tony, I just didn't know what else to do."

"Don't be sorry, he is your brother and he is so worried about you."

"You guys look out of it, did you just finish work?"

Michelle nodded her head. "Yeah, I am sure you have seen a pile of stuff on the news. It has been a crazy day, well night and day. But it is ok now."

Michelle could see tears starting to make their way down Jess's cheeks. Although they had only just met, she really felt for her. She stood up and pulled Jess into a hug. When she did, Jess held her tight and really let go bawling into Michelle's shoulder. One second she was saying she was sorry, the next she was asking what she was going to do. Michelle assured her that they would help her, that Sam wouldn't hurt her and that everything was going to be ok.

Tony hung up the phone and walked back in the room to see the two girls embracing and his heart fluttered. They had just met and yet it looked like they had known each other for years. He watched as Michelle rubbed his sisters back and told her that it would all be ok. He couldn't believe how lucky he was to have Michelle with him right now. He didn't know if he would have been able to handle the situation on his own but with Michelle he felt like it would be ok. He was worried about her though as well. She must be a wreck inside after everything they had been through. All he wanted to do was hold Michelle close and assure her that she was going to be ok. The feeling in his gut told him he was madly in love. He wanted to smoother her with kisses, but he had to tell himself to calm down, she wasn't even his girlfriend. They had shared a kiss but he didn't even know how Michelle felt about that. He figured he would never recover if she didn't return his strong feelings. He stood watching them until they pulled out of the embrace and then he went back over to them and explained that he had made a report and that Jess would have to give a statement.

The all spent a minute staring around the apartment at the mess before finally Michelle clapped her hands together. "Ok, let's get this place put back together."

Jess stood up. "No, no, I don't expect you guys to do to do, I just..."

"Jess, it needs to get done and you are not going to start feeling better until it is. Plus with the 3 of us it won't take long at all."

Tony didn't know what to do. On one hand he wanted to do anything to help Jess and of course he planned on helping her fix it up but he didn't want Michelle having to worry about it. He would rather see her getting some rest. "Michelle, I'll help Jess, really I want you to get some rest."

He was surprised to see a wave of panic across Michelle's face. He tilted his head and took a step closer to her. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I just want to help." She excused herself to go to the bathroom before anyone else could argue with her.

Jess spoke quietly to Tony. "I can't believe she wants to help, she just met me. She is amazing Tony."

"She is, isn't she."

"You seem worried about her though, is everything ok?"

Tony checked to see Michelle wasn't on her way back before speaking. "We just had a rough shift at work and she really went through hell. Plus I just caught some asshole trying to rough her up before we came here. I don't think she is ready to be on her own yet and to be honest, I don't want her to go home by herself either."

"Sorry Tony, sounds like this was the worst time in the world to be calling you for help."

He put his arm around her. "Don't be silly, you are my sister, when you need help it is never a bad time. I am always here for you, no matter what."

When Michelle came back from the bathroom, Tony suggested he order in some food for them all. He phoned a local deli and ordered a pile of sandwiches and drinks. They all headed into the living room and decided to start in there. Tony took care of lifting all the heaving things whilst Michelle and Jess started cleaning all the glass. They tried to keep the conversation light as they worked and Tony ended up having a great time listening to his sister and Michelle joke around and get to know each other. They stopped to eat the food when it arrived.

They were about 3 hours into cleaning when there was loud banging on the door. Both the girls jumped in fright and Tony told them to go wait in the bedroom. It was Sam. As soon as he saw Tony at the door he began to beg for forgiveness. He told Tony that he was so sorry and that all he wanted to do was apologise to Jess and then he would leave. Tony told him to get lost or he would call the cops but Sam wouldn't give up.

Jess was listening to every word and eventually yelled out to Tony to let him in. Tony sighed and stepped aside. Sam's shoulders were hunched over and he looked a mess, like he had been crying. When he saw Jess emerge from the bedroom he took a step forward. "I am so sorry baby. I hate myself for what I did. I just lost it, I couldn't bear the thought of losing you. There is no excuse for what I did but I need you to know how sorry I am."

Tony sighed when he could see Jess soften to Sam straight away. He could see this guy was going to weasel his way back into his sister's life. He decided to speak up. "Mate, have you seen the fucking mess you caused here? You trashed my sister's apartment and you left her scared to death."

"I know, I know, I don't know what is wrong with me. I am going to get help, I promise."

Jess looked at Tony and then back at Sam. "I've never seen you like that before, you scared the hell out of me."

"I'm sorry, I am so sorry. I'll pay for all the damage.."

Tony barked up. "Damn right you will."

Michelle had come out of the bedroom as well and was standing next to Jess. When Sam took a step closer to Jess, Michelle instinctively stood a little in front of her.

"Please can I just talk to you Jess? Just let me explain, that's all."

"It doesn't really matter what you say Sam, it is still over. I meant what I said, I am done with you. There isn't anything more to say."

Tony felt relieved and proud of his sister. He was sure she was going to cave. He opened the front door. "I think you should go Sam, you have done enough."

"I am just asking for 5 minutes to talk to Jess!"

"Don't raise your voice and listen to what my sister has said. She isn't interested, leave."

Sam ignored Tony and took another step closer to Jess. "I love you. I love you so much. I am nothing without you, I have nothing without you."

"Well you should have thought of that before you screwed that other woman!"

Both Tony and Michelle were shocked. Jess hadn't told them that Sam had cheated on her. This just made Tony even angrier.

"It was a mistake, a stupid fucking mistake and it meant nothing. Please I love you." He inched even closer.

Michelle kept standing close to Jess. "You need to step back Sam."

Sam shot Michelle a nasty glare. "And who the fuck are you in all this?"

Tony jumped forward and shouted. "Don't you dare talk to her that way. You have 5 seconds to get the hell out or I'll throw you out."

Before they even saw it coming Sam lunged at Jess. He went to push her but Michelle jumped in front and blocked him. In a second, he punched Michelle with extreme force knocking her to the ground. Tony had reached Sam by this point, grabbed him from behind, spun him around and decked him. Sam went to fall to the ground but Tony caught him, punched him again and dragged him out the door. He slammed the door shut and locked it straight away. Everything had happened so quickly. Jess was screaming and Michelle was out cold on the ground.

Tony rushed to Michelle and told Jess to call the police. He dropped to his knees and leant over Michelle saying her name. She didn't respond. He sat and pulled her body so that her head was in his lap. He stroked her forehead whilst saying her name repeatedly. His heart was racing a mile a minute and he felt sick. Sam must have had a ring on because there was a bad cut above her eye that was bleeding heavily and he could already see a deep bruise appearing.

Within a minute Michelle started to come to. Her eyes blinked a few times and she was having trouble focusing. She could taste blood in her mouth, her head hurt like hell and she could hear Tony saying her name. She tried to focus on him, he was looking down at her, concern so evident in his eyes. She felt his hand gently rub her arm as he quietly spoke to her. "Sweetheart, can you hear me? It's Tony."

"Tony?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"Sweetheart?"

Tony couldn't help but smile. "Is that ok?"

She gave him half a nod and then tried to move but quickly became very light-headed. Tony held her down. "No don't move yet. Do you remember what happened?"

"Yes, is Jess ok?"

Tony looked up at Jess who was watching them intently and crying and then back at Michelle. "She is fine, thanks to you."

Jess dropped down next to them. "I can't believe you did that Michelle. You saved me. I am so sorry, I am so so sorry, I'm..."

Tony placed his hand out on Jess's shoulder. "Hey, calm down."

"I called the police, they are on the way."

"Michelle needs to go to the hospital, she needs stiches and quickly, this is a really bad cut."

"What do we do?"

He looked back at Michelle. "Can you hold on for a few minutes baby? I don't want to try getting you out of here until the police are here in case Sam is still hanging around?"

Michelle responded weakly that she would be fine.

He had Jess get him a hand towel so he could wipe Michelle's face. As he gently wiped the blood on her cheek he told her how brave she was. Inside his heart hurt beyond belief seeing Michelle like this. It had only been hours earlier that he had promised her he would never let anyone hurt her again and already this had happened. Jess was all over the place and he worried she was going to have a panic attack. He tried to calm her down.

"But, it's my fault. If I hadn't called you guys he would never have done this to Michelle. It should have been me."

Michelle slightly turned her head. "Jess, it's ok. I'll be fine, I promise."

The 3 of them only had to wait a couple more minutes before the police were at the door. As soon as they saw Michelle they said they would escort them to the hospital and do the report there. Michelle went to try and get up but Tony told her no. He picked her up in his arms and carried her down to the squad car.

Jess had never seen her brother like this before. He was so protective of Michelle and so gently with her it was beautiful. Clearly he cared for this woman more than anything. Jess had figured that they must have just recently gotten together but it wasn't until he saw the way Michelle reacted when he called her sweetheart that she realised they were not actually together yet. As they drove to the hospital, Jess answered the police questions and watched Tony stroke Michelle and whisper to her that he would take care of her and that she would be ok. Michelle seemed very drowsy and in a lot of pain. The bruise was growing by the minute and her eye was beginning to close it was so swollen.

* * *

When they reached the hospital, Michelle was taken straight into a room and a doctor appeared within minutes. The nurse asked Jess to wait outside but Tony quickly said that he didn't want Jess by herself and he wanted her in the room. Tony had always been amazing to Jess and this was just a good example of how much he cared for her. Even with everything else he was trying to deal with, he thought enough to know Jess wouldn't want to be sitting outside waiting on her own.

The doctor told Tony he would need to get Michelle into a gown. Michelle was groggy but wide enough awake to know what was going on. Jess stood on the other side of the curtain as a nurse helped Tony remove Michelle's sweater and pull a gown on. He could tell Michelle was nervous but luckily she had a singlet on underneath and they were happy to leave that on.

The doctor cleaned Michelle up as much as he could so he could see how bad the cut was. He then explained to Tony that he would give Michelle something for pain, then some local anaesthetic before stitching it up. As the doctor was getting everything ready, Michelle took Tony by surprise by grabbing his hand. "I'm not good with needles."

He traced her hand with his thumb, loving the feeling of her hand in his. "Just squeeze my hand as tight as you want. It will be over before you know it."

"Is it a big one?"

Tony laughed. "You are a federal agent that kicks people's ass for a living and a little needle scares you?"

Michelle laughed. When the doctor gave her the needle for pain relief, she tugged firmly on his hand. He placed his other hand on top of hers and held on tight. He tried to distract Michelle as much as he could whist they stitched her eye up. He rambled on about anything he could think. A couple times she had to tell him to stop making her laugh because it hurt. After Jess had spoken with the police she sat next to Tony and joined in. It soon became obvious the pain relief was working and Michelle was feeling dopey from it. Suddenly in a very serious tone she said to Tony. "Spiders."

"What about spiders?"

"I'm also scared of spiders. Spiders and needles scare the hell out of me."

Tony and Jess laughed.

Michelle was given 10 stitches. She was going to need a take it very easy for awhile. The doctor asked if Tony would be the one looking after her. Without a thought he responded yes. Michelle spoke up. "I'll be ok Tony, you don't..."

He leaned over her. "You've got to be kidding me Chelle. You are not leaving my sight. No arguments." Then he turned to Jess. "You either."

Jess seemed relieved but confused. "But what are we going to do?"

Tony gave a cheeky grin. "I guess we will be having a sleepover at my place tonight!"

Jess hugged Tony. "Thanks bro. Don't know what I'd do without you. I'm just going to call a friend I was meant to be seeing tonight."

When she had left the room, Tony turned back to Michelle. "Hey, look I know things have gotten a little crazy. I mean, you agreed to go out for a coffee with me and then all this happened. I didn't mean to speak for you before about staying at my place, it's just I really don't want to be apart from you right now. I want to look after you."

"I just don't want you to feel like you have to Tony, I would be ok...it's just a black eye."

"It's not just a black eye. You were knocked out cold. You have had 10 stitches, you have the worst black eye I have ever seen and you have been through hell the last 30 hours. I want to look after you." He leaned in even closer. "You saved my little sister today Michelle. I'll never be able to thank you enough for what you did, you are amazing."

"I liked it when you called me sweetheart."

Tony laughed. "You are my sweetheart Chelle. I've wanted to call you that for so long. So what do you say? Will you let me look after you?"

She nodded her head and tightened her grip on his hand. "Yes." The smile disappeared from her face. "Ummm Tony..."

"Yes sweetheart?"

"I think I'd be kind of scared to go home by myself. You make me feel safe."

He stroked her cheek with his thumb. "I don't know how you could possibly feel safe with me after everything that has happened..."

"I always feel safe with you."

"You want to know something Chelle?"

"What?"

"I didn't want to go home by myself either this morning. When you found me in my office like that this morning I was totally freaking out. I was so happy when you said you would go for coffee with me."

"I wanted to hold you so much then. I wanted to take away your pain but I didn't know how. I didn't know if you were angry with me for what had happened..."

"Why would I be angry with you?"

"Because I lied to you about Jack."

"Sweetheart, you did the right thing. I should have listened to you from the start."

Michelle's eyes became watery. "I need you to know that I am completely loyal to you Tony."

He picked up her hand and kissed the back of it. "I know, and I want you to know I am completely loyal to you. You mean more to me than you could possibly ever understand."

"I know I am feeling a little stoned or something right now from the injection and I'll probably die of embarrassment later but..."

He leaned in so their faces were just inches apart. "But..."

"Will you kiss me?"

Tony's heart skipped a beat. He stood up, leaned down over her and then paused as their lips were just about touching. "I've never wanted anything more." With that he let his lips drop until they touched hers. He took it slowly as he ever so gently kissed her top and bottom lip. He wanted to taste her, he wished like hell they were not in the hospital or he would really be showing her what he wanted. He eased her lips apart and slid his tongue across to hers. The chemistry was like nothing he had ever experienced before. As each second past, the more intense the kiss became until their tongues were wrestling. He put his hand on her waist and ran it across her stomach. She pulled back slightly but he wasn't ready to stop and so he ran his tongue across her lips and pulled her back in. He only stopped when he heard the curtain open the doctor walk back in to check on Michelle.

As he leaned back, they held eye contact. No words needed to be said, their looks gave away everything they felt. There was no turning back now. Michelle had his heart. He just hoped like hell that he had hers.

The doctor just wanted to keep Michelle long enough to make sure the injection for pain he had given her had worn off a little and she was safe to leave. Tony and Jess completed the police reports and everyone was hopeful that Sam would be picked up within the next few hours.

On the way back from the hospital they stopped at Jess and Michelle's apartment to pick up some things. It was dinner time by the time they were back at Tony's place. Tony only had 1 spare room that he set up for Jess but he was a little nervous about how to approach the situation with Michelle. He wanted her to stay with him in his room but he didn't want to push her or put her in a position that she felt uncomfortable in. He decided to just see how the night went and handle it when the time came. They ordered in some take out for dinner and settled down in the lounge.

As they ate they sat chatting on the couch. Jess thanked Michelle again for everything.

"Just promise me something Jess, that you won't ever go back to Sam. I know it's not my place to tell you what to do but that guy is dangerous and you deserve so much better."

"Trust me Michelle, after what he did today, I'll never even talk to him again. I'm sorry you got dragged into this and I am so sorry what he did to you. I can't believe you were here out of the good of your heart to help me and this is what happened to you."

"Really Jess, I'm fine. I'm actually glad Tony and I were there, who knows how bad that situation could have got."

"So, am I allowed to ask if that was supposed to be a first date or something for you guys today?"

Today laughed nervously. "I wouldn't call it a date, pretty lame on my behalf it was. We were going to go for coffee but if I remember correctly you still owe me a dinner and a movie Michelle...that can be a real date!"

"I'd like that, although I have to say, sitting here now, with you guys just hanging out has been really nice. I've enjoyed getting to know you today Jess and Tony...well you have been...amazing."

Jess laughed, "wow, you are making him blush! Nobody makes Tony blush!"

Tony threw a pillow at Jess. "Watch it!"

Michelle's head hurt like hell and her eye was throbbing. Tony could see she was fading fast. He walked over to her and knelt down. "You are looking really beat. How is the pain?"

"Not great to be honest."

"Why don't you change into something more comfortable, I'll get you some tablets to take and you can lie down and we will just put a DVD or something on so you can relax?"

Michelle thought that was a good idea and so she went to get changed. When she was gone Tony started getting a blanket and the tablets for Michelle. "Hey Tony, want me to clear off to my room so you and Michelle can have some time alone?"

"It's ok Jess, I don't think she is going to last long anyway. We will just watch a film or something till she is ready to sleep."

"Do you really think she is ok?"

Tony sighed. He was worried about Michelle. He could see she was in lot of pain but he also didn't want to make Jess feel any worse than she already did. "She will be ok Jess. It's not just her head, she had a shit last day and really went through a lot, and I think it is catching up with her."

"Are you worried about her?"

"Yeah, I am. But everything is so new between us I don't want to be too pushy – I mean, we are not even officially together or anything. I keep having to stop myself from totally taking over..."

"But it is obvious you guys both want to be together, I think she probably needs you to take control of things..."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it's like me today. I was so upset and lost and you are the only one I really trust and I really needed you to come in and look after me, tell me what to do, help me get through the situation. If Michelle is feeling freaked out by everything that you guys have gone through, maybe she is trying to be strong but what she really needs is to know it is ok to fall apart and that you will be there."

"You know, you are smarter than you look!" He laughed and headed into the bedroom to find Michelle and see how she was going. She had just finished getting changed. "Hey Tony."

"Hey, thought I'd get into something comfy as well." He pulled out a t-shirt and track top. He started to undo the buttons of his shirt. Michelle looked like she started to blush a little. "I'll just let you get changed." She started to leave the room.

"Hey, it's ok. I'm just changing my top." He gave her a wink.

He pulled his shirt off and then turned around to grab his t-shirt off the bed. When he turned Michelle saw that he had a huge bruise on his back with little cuts all over it. The cuts had bled and looked really nasty.

"OH MY GOD TONY, your back!"

He spun around. "What? What's wrong?"

"You have a huge bruise and a pile of cuts, you have been bleeding. Didn't you get it looked at after the bomb? Doesn't it hurt?"

Tony's back had been sore all day and he figured he must have a pretty big bruise but he hadn't had anyone look at it and he hadn't even had time to look himself. He walked into the bathroom and was really shocked to see how bad it actually was. When he turned back to Michelle he could see tears running down her cheeks. "Hey hey, it's ok, I'll be fine Michelle. Just some scrapes.."

"It's not just scrapes Tony. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't realise it was that bad, I just thought it was a bruise."

She started to really cry which shocked Tony completely. After everything she had been through today, how could this be the thing that made her cry? She hadn't even been this upset when Sam had punched her. He didn't understand. He walked over to her and put his arms out but she took a step back from him. "What's wrong? Chelle?"

She tried to speak but nothing but sobs came out. She tried again but when she couldn't form any words she gave up and ran into the bathroom not wanting Tony to see her really losing it. She closed the door but he pushed it open and followed her in. "I'm ok sweetheart, really..."

"All this time you have been looking after me Tony and I had no idea you were so badly hurt."

"It's not that bad Chelle. Nothing compared to what you have just been through. Don't cry sweetheart..."

"I'm sorry. I'm trying not to. I just...I just..."

"Chelle..."

"Maybe I should go..."

Tony couldn't believe what he was hearing. It made no sense to him at all. "What? Why the hell would you go?"

"I don't want you to see me like this. You need to look after Jess. I..."

Tony cornered her near the counter. "You are not going anywhere. Talk to me Chelle, have I done something wrong?"

She shook her head.

"Are you angry?"

Again she shook her head.

"Why do you want to leave?"

She threw her arms up in the air. "I'm scared. I'm really scared Tony. And now I see how you were hurt and I don't know..."

"There is nothing to be scared of Chelle. They are just bruises..."

She went to push past him but he caught her in both of his arms. "You are not leaving. Look at me."

She did as he said. When he had eye contact with her, he ran his thumb down her cheek and tried to wipe away some of the tears. "Talk to me."

She raised her voice at him like she never had before. It took him off guard. "Don't you get it Tony? I almost lost you yesterday!"

She stopped him in his tracks and he could feel his own eyes welling up. "What, you mean with the bomb?"

"Yes with the bomb! I didn't know if I had lost you. I couldn't see you at first and I thought you were gone."

"Oh my god baby." He pulled her into his arms and held her as tight as he could. He did understand. He understood better than anyone because he had felt the same way. Until he had seen Michelle he had thought he had lost her as well. He felt sick even thinking about it. Her ran his hands through her hair and whispered in her ear, "I thought I had lost you to Chelle. My heart stopped until I saw you."

"What would I have done Tony?"

"I don't know baby. I hate even thinking about it because I couldn't cope if I didn't have you. But we are both here. We are both ok and we are going to make the most of everything now, ok?"

She was nodding her head. "I hate CTU."

He smiled a little, "I hate it to right now. I think you and I need a little time out."

He bent down so they were eye level. "What can I do baby?"

"Let me look at your back. It needs antiseptic on it and maybe bandaids."

"OK, shall I go and get my medicine kit?"

"Yes please."

Tony kissed her on the forehead and then made his way into the kitchen. He didn't think there was really too much Michelle could do for his back but he knew it wasn't really about that, she needed to feel like she was doing something about the situation. Exactly how he felt about her and her eye. So he was happy to let her do whatever she wanted. He was glad that that had happened; it felt like it opened the gates for them to talk about all this. He told Jess to watch some TV and that they would be out soon. He grabbed the box and headed back into the bedroom.

Michelle had Tony lie on his stomach. She started by gently tracing her finger around the bruise before cleaning it up with a wet hand towel and then wiping it with antiseptic. It felt so nice having her look after him like this. He soaked in every second of it. They didn't really talk much, other than Michelle asking him if it hurt every time she did something. When she was done he sat up and pulled her into a hug and thanked her. "I'm sorry I freaked out Tony."

"I want you to open up to me Chelle but from now on you have to promise me you won't try and up and leave like that."

"I promise."

They headed back out to the living room where Jess was sucked into an episode of Friends. They sat next to each other on the coach and watched it with her. Tony couldn't concentrate on the show - he couldn't help looking at Michelle's eye which was now completely closed it was so swollen and it looked like half her face was busied. It made him feel ill seeing her like that, thinking about how much it hurt, how scary the afternoon had been for them. She caught him looking at her. "Tony, don't...it's disgusting."

"It's not disgusting Chelle. You can barely open your eye it is so swollen, I'm worried about you."

"Do you think it will go down in the next day or so before work?"

"Chelle, I'm not sure when you will be ready for work and you can't worry about that..."

"What do you mean you are not sure when I will be ready for work? I am meant to be there on Monday."

He shook his head. "After everything that has happened, I think you need a few days out..."

"But there is so much to do and..."

"Chelle, they have got replacements in from all around the country. Besides Chappelle isn't letting anyone go back to work that isn't completely ready."

"Are you saying you don't think I am fit for work?"

He took his time to answer, trying to make sure he got the words right. He shook his head at the same time. "Not yet. Don't worry I am not going back until you do, I want us to take a few days to sort all this out."

She was about to answer when her cell phone rang. She pushed herself up and flipped it open to see who it was, then she stood up and took the call off in the kitchen. Tony wondered why she wouldn't just answer it in front of him. Jess broke his concentration. "Tony, I think you were kind of missing the point a bit there. It's none of my business, I'm just saying."

"Missed what point? What do you mean?

Jess checked to make sure Michelle was still out of ear shot. "I think Michelle is self-conscious of her eye..."

"Why would she be worried about that? She is beautiful and the bruise will heal."

"Have you told her that?"

"Told her what?"

Jess chuckled, "Men...really! Tony have you told her she is beautiful?"

Tony was ashamed that he hadn't. Considering he thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen he had wanted to tell her a million times. "No..."

"Tony!"

"You don't understand Jess, up until yesterday I thought I would never have a chance with Chelle. Every guy in the office is lusting after her. Then with everything that has happened today, it's not like I have even had a chance to sit her down and tell her how I really feel about her. Trust me, it's not like I don't think it, she is the most incredible woman I've ever known."

Jess smiled. "I've never seen you like this about someone before."

"That's because no one has ever made me feel the way she does. Shit Jess, I am so nervous I am going to fuck it up. Sometimes I feel like a fumbling idiot around her. Do you really think she is worried about how her eye looks?"

"Well she didn't want you looking at it and she said it was disgusting..."

"I'm such a prick..."

"Tony, you are not a prick! You have been amazing to both Chelle and I today. All I was trying to say was that I think Chelle is feeling self-conscious about it and if you think she is beautiful you should tell her how you feel."

"Yeah, thanks." He decided to go see how she was doing. He got up and headed into the kitchen. As he entered he could hear Michelle telling whoever was on the other end of the phone that she really didn't want to 'talk about it'. The person clearly pushed the subject again and Michelle said she couldn't deal with this now. It was obvious she was getting more and more worked up. She then said in a raised voice, 'I just told you I'm sorry I didn't call you back this morning.' There was a long silence before she said 'I'm just at a friend's, I can't talk right now. I'm not keeping anything from you, I told you I was ok, just tired. I'm really sorry." She spun around and Tony caught eye contact with her.

Michelle ended the conversation quickly and hung up the phone. Tony felt very uneasy. "Who was that? Everything ok?

Michelle nodded her head. "Just a family friend Nick, everything is fine."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure. You guys still watching Friends?" She started to head back out to the hall.

Tony gently put his hand on her arm. He was sure that Michelle wasn't telling him something. He wanted to push and ask more about who Nick was but she was brushing it off and clearly didn't want to get into it. Tony felt jealous even though he didn't know if he had a reason to feel jealous or not. "I didn't mean to interrupt your call..."

"You didn't, I was done anyways."

"You seemed pretty upset."

"I'm ok."

"Was he giving you a hard time about something?"

Michelle sighed. "I was meant to call him back this morning but I kind of forgot with everything else that happened."

"It seemed pretty heated over you just not returning a phone call..."

Michelle shrugged her shoulders, unsure of what to say. Her hesitation concerned Tony even more.

"Do you mind if I ask you why you were telling him that everything was fine and that you were just tired?"

"Because I didn't want to worry him, that's all. Besides, I am ok."

"Why wouldn't you want to worry him?"

Michelle leaned against the counter. "Is something wrong Tony? You seem a bit funny..."

"Because you are acting funny. You jumped up and left the room when you he called like you didn't want to answer in front of me, I heard you telling him you can't talk about something now, you out right lied to him that you were ok and everything was fine. This guy is upset with you just because you forgot to call him back and you couldn't have hung up the phone fast enough when you realised I was in the room..."

"Tony what are you getting at?"

It flew out of Tony's mouth before he even realised. "Is Nick more than just a family friend?"

"I didn't rush to get off the phone and you guys were watching TV, I wasn't going to just start talking on the phone..."

"That's crap Michelle and you know it."

"I can't believe this, I told you, he is just a family friend. Why are you acting this way?"

"Because clearly something is going on here and clearly this guy was upsetting you."

"Are you worried because you think he was upsetting me or because you think something else is going on?

Tony was trying to calm himself down but it was impossible. He was scared stiff that Michelle had let him fall for her and she might not be feeling the same way. He raised his voice at her. "Do I really need to say it?"

Michelle's head hurt like hell and she couldn't believe she was now fighting with Tony. Why was he so angry with her? "I guess you do Tony because I can't believe you are acting like this..."

He threw his hands up in the air. "BECAUSE I AM JEALOUS! There I said it, is that what you wanted to hear? Who the fuck Nick is and why don't you want to talk about him?"

Michelle was floored. "Why are you jealous?"

"Are you seriously asking me that?"

"Tony, it's nothing like that, I told you it is just a family friend. I really didn't want to talk to him about something because it is upsetting and after today I couldn't deal with it. That's all. I'm not trying to hide anything from you, it's just not the right time to talk about it. There has been enough to deal with today."

"But if something is wrong, or someone is upsetting you I want to know. Fuck Chelle, it is because of me that you went through hell today..."

"That wasn't your fault Tony."

"Yes it was, I let you down..."

"You think that's why I'm not spilling my guts to you?"

"I don't know. I just need to know Chelle, do you care for this guy? I can't handle...

"This is fucked up, you have already made your mind up, it doesn't matter what I say!"

"Well it would help if you said something!"

Michelle felt defeated. This whole thing had gotten so out of control. She was so mad at Tony that after the amount of times she had put herself out there for him he could even question her feelings for him. She didn't even know what to say, she just stood staring blankly at the floor.

All Tony wanted to hear her say was that she wanted him, that she cared for him they way he did for her but she wasn't. He let loose, "How dare you let me kiss you like that today, let me put my arms around you...how could you let me think I actually had a fucking chance with you when..."

Michelle started to head towards the front door. "Nick was my father's best friend Tony. My Dad was a federal agent in New York and he was killed in the line of duty 2 years ago and Nick promised my Dad he would always look out for me. He is like 65 years old." She started to sob. "Tomorrow is the 2 year anniversary of my Dad's death and I was supposed to call Nick today with the arrangements for a few of Dad's friends to go to the cemetery tomorrow. And I didn't do it. I screwed up. He was pushing me because he was worried about me and didn't know why I didn't want to talk about it. I hadn't told you yet what happened so I took the call in the kitchen because I wasn't feeling up to going into everything about my Dad. I told Nick I was fine because I didn't want to worry him – he would have had a bloody heart attack if I told him what happened today."

She pulled the door open to leave.

Tony's heart felt like it broke into a million pieces. He was stunned. He ran towards her but she put her hand out to stop him and yelled. "I am sorry but after everything that happened at CTU yesterday I don't know how to deal with it all. I was so close to losing YOU yesterday just like I lost my Dad." She turned and ran for the stairs.

Tony shouted at her to stop but she didn't even turn around, she just kept going. He caught up with her and threw both of his arms around her body. She struggled but he just pulled her into his body as tightly as possible until she couldn't move at all. "I'm so sorry, I am so so sorry."

He could tell she couldn't speak because she was crying too heavily. He was in a complete panic over what the hell to say or do. He edged their bodies closer to the wall and then spun them so her back was pushed up against it. He released his tight grip from around her and then pushed his body into hers, pinning her against the wall. "Don't run baby. Please don't run from me."

The tears were making her eye hurt like hell, she went to wipe them and pain shot through her body and she let out a whimper. All Tony could think to do was lean in and so gently kiss the tears away. His lips barely touched her skin in fear of hurting her. When she didn't pull away and she stopped whimpering, he softly used his tongue. They stayed like this for a few minutes until they had both tried to digest what had just happened. Michelle was stunned that she had blurted everything out like that. Tony had managed to push her to be more open and raw than she had ever been with anyone in her life and it scared the hell out of her. The fact that he was covering her body with his own and kissing her like that gave her a small sense of relief that it was ok that she had said what she had said.

Tony was scared to death that if he even gave her an inch of room to move she would try and run again. He needed time to figure out what to do. He was racked with guilt for pushing her over the edge like that. Because he had been so jealous he broken her down. He didn't even know where to start to begin to pull her out of quite possibly the most vulnerable position imaginable. How could he have gotten it so wrong? How could he have allowed himself to get so jealous and out of control that he just pushed and pushed her to this point? It wasn't fair. Clearly he wasn't dealing with the events of the last few days nearly as well as he thought he was. He had been unable to control his emotions and now this had happened.

He whispered into her ear again. "Please don't leave me, I'm so sorry."

Her voice was weak and broken. "My head hurts. Help me Tony."

Tears ran down his cheeks. He reached one arm down to the back of her thighs and ran the other one around her back, bent down a little and picked her up. As he started to carry her back into the apartment he kissed her forehead. "I will."

He started making his way toward his bedroom. "I don't feel good."

"I'm going to look after you sweetheart."

As he walked through the living room he passed Jess who sat stunned sitting in the chair. She had heard the whole thing and clearly been crying heavily. "Jess, can you get me the pain medication the hospital gave Michelle for me?"

She nodded her head and made her way to the kitchen.

Tony lay Michelle on his bed, as he stood up Jess was behind him with the tablets and water. He thanked her and told her to wait for him in the living room. He had Michelle sit up a little and take the tablets. "Honey, I am so sorry about your Dad. I have a million things I need to say to you, but I need you to know how deeply sorry I am for everything that just happened and everything I said. Do you think you will be ok for 2 minutes while I just make a phone call?"

**Thanks again for reading - please review**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi Guys, thanks for reading. I Don't own 24 or any of the characters etc..**

**Some bad language and sexual references but nothing too bad...yet:)**

He stepped out of the room, pulled his cell out of his pocket and dialled his parents. He knew that Jess needed some serious support after everything she had been through today with Sam and Michelle needed to be looked after as well and he just didn't feel like he could give both girls what they needed on his own. If his mum came over she could help with Jess so he could concentrate on Michelle. He gave his mum a very quick rundown of the day but told her he would fill her in on the rest when she came, he just needed her here as soon as possible.

Next he ran into the living room where he found Jess sitting on the floor quietly sobbing. He put his arm around her and explained that their mum was on her way over. Jess got even more upset, she hadn't ever planned on telling her parents how Sam had treated her but she also knew this wasn't just about her anymore. The woman her brother loved, who had been nothing but amazing to her had been badly hurt because she had protected her. She was still stunned over the fight she had heard Tony and Michelle have. She felt partly responsible. Even though she knew her brother had lost his temper, something he was famous for, she knew it had come from a good place. He was head over heels in love with Michelle and Jess could see it was scaring him. She told Tony to go back to Michelle and that she would be fine until their mum got there.

Tony thanked her and ran back to the bedroom. He found Michelle walking to the bathroom. "What do you need Chelle? Can I get something for you?"

"I spilt the water Tony, I'm sorry. Can you get me another top to put on?" Her voice was still broken with tears. Her face was red and even her good eye was swollen from crying. The front of her top of was soaked.

"Of course." He pulled one of his t-shirts out from his drawer and took it over to her. "You don't look to steady on your feet honey. Let me help you."

She looked like she was going to protest but just didn't have the energy to. "I'll get you a face cloth, just come back to the bed." He put his arm around her and led her back over to the bed so she could sit down. He felt relieved that she was even talking to him.

As she sat, he handed her the t-shirt. She took it but then just held it in her hands. Suddenly she started breathing really heavily and more tears made their way down her cheeks. "What have I done Tony? How could I forget to call my Dad's friends about tomorrow? I am a horrible, horrible person..."

"Don't say that sweetheart. So much has happened today..."

"Yeah and then I just blew Nick off like that, he was just trying to look out for me and I lied to him, something I have never done before and then I hurt your feelings and got you so angry with me. I've screwed everything up." She was trying to wipe her cheeks but she couldn't keep up with the tears, she felt like she was having a panic attack. She was struggling to breathe properly.

Tony gently took her hand. "Baby, I need you to try and take some deep breaths. You haven't screwed anything up, we can phone Nick back and sort this out. I'll help you. And I am the one that was in the wrong Chelle. I had no right to speak to you the way I did, I'm disgusted with myself..."

She started gasping for air because her breaths were so short and shallow, he was sure she was having a panic attack. He needed her to calm down.

"I'm cold, I need to get this shirt off." She was pulling the collar out as if it was too tight around her neck. She was so agitated and couldn't stop moving. It was like she couldn't keep up with trying to pull her collar out as if that would make it easier to breathe and at the same time trying to wipe the tears away.

She suddenly stood up and grabbed the bottom of her top.

He went to cover her hands with his "Let me help you..."

Suddenly she stepped back and yelled at him. "Help me? You want to help me? Why would you want to help me? You have never been so angry with me. You think I had something going on with Nick, you think..."

"No Chelle, I was an asshole, I was so jealous I wasn't thinking straight, I...

She yanked her top up over her head, the buttons on the collar got caught on her stitches ripping a few of them out. She screamed in pain.

"Shit, holy shit. Don't move baby." He tried seeing if he could easily slide the top off but one button was slightly hooked on a stitch and the half of the collar line was still under the rest of the stitches. Blood was dripping down her cheek.

Jess had run to the door when she heard Michelle scream. Tony asked her to grab scissors.

"Ok baby, I'm going to cut the collar so it is wide enough to pull out over, it's going to hurt too much if I try and pull it over, is that ok?"

Michelle had stopped crying, almost as though she was shocked at what was happening. "Yeah, please just get it off."

Jess came running back in and handed Tony the scissors. "I'm going to go and call a doctor to come to the house."

Tony thanked Jess then spoke as calmly as he could. "Ok sweetheart, don't move at all, I'm going to start cutting now."

"Ok."

It took Tony a few minutes to cut the t-shirt enough that he could just pull it out and over her head without it touching her skin at all. Once he had, he inspected her wound. "Sweetheart 3 of the stitches have ripped out, I'm so sorry." He didn't want to tell her or make a big deal and freak her out but the wound was quite wide now where the stitches had ripped through the skin.

Michelle at first just felt relieved that the top was off her head, and then it hit her suddenly that she was standing in front of Tony in just a bra. She threw her hands up trying to cover herself.

Tony looked at her adoringly. He put his finger under her chin and lifted her head slightly so she would look at him. "She are so beautiful Michelle. So beautiful."

She gave him a small smile and it made his heart melt. With the panic of everything going on he hadn't even looked but now he couldn't help himself. He tried not to be disrespectful and gawk at her.

Michelle felt so awkward on one hand but on the other she didn't think anyone had ever looked at her the way Tony was now. They stood in silence for a moment until she felt blood drip from her face down onto her hand. She instinctively removed her hand from her chest and wiped her cheek. Blood was everywhere.

Tony reached behind him and closed the bedroom door so that Jess wouldn't walk back in. He took Michelle's hand, "come sit on the bed, I'll help you clean up." She took his hand and then sat on the bed.

Tony told her to hold on for one sec. He stuck his head out the door and asked Jess what was happening with the doctor. Just after she responded her heard the door bell ring. Thank god his mom was here. He told Jess, he would let them know when they could come back in.

He closed the door, went into the bathroom and got some warm wet wash cloths. He went back and sat next to Michelle.

"Who was at the door Tony?"

"My mum. Michelle I know you are completely overwhelmed but I just had to call her. I'm not handling any of this very well and I didn't know how to be enough for both you and Jess so I called and asked for help."

"I'm sorry Tony."

"Hey, please stop apologizing, please. We really need to talk Michelle. There is so much we need to clear up."

"I know."

He grabbed his t-shirt. "Want me to help you put this on?"

"Yes please."

"I'll grab you your PJ bottoms as well. Let's get you comfy. Then the doctor will be here and he is going to have to restitch your head."

"It's getting late, I really need to fix this with Nick. I just don't think I can handle all this."

He took her hand. "When the doctor is here, I will call Nick and I'll help you get this sorted out, I promise. You can handle this honey and I'm going to help you through it."

He grabbed the wet towel and started to wipe the blood off her shoulder. It had now run all down her bra and stomach. As he edged closer to her breast he paused, "Is this ok? Do you mind?"

"I'm not going to pretend I'm not completely nervous and embarrassed but you have already seen me now."

"There is nothing to be embarrassed about sweetheart, you are the most stunning woman I have ever seen. And trust me, I'm so nervous my hands are shaking and I hope you don't think I'm a jerk but I don't think a day has gone past since I met you that I haven't thought about getting to remove your top...I would give anything though for it to have been under very different circumstances."

She smiled.

"It's nice to see you smile Chelle."

"Do I get a smile?"

That made Tony giver her more than a smile, he laughed. "Come here..." He gently rubbed the blood off her cheek, neck, shoulder and around the top of her bra. The bra was covered in blood, enough that it looked like it would have soaked through. He stopped. "How about I pull the new top on now and then I can take care of the rest?"

"OK. Do you think the doctor will be here soon? My head really hurts?"

"I'm not surprised. He should be here really soon. Hang in there honey, you are doing amazing."

He stretched his t-shirt collar out a lot so that he could basically just pull it over her head without touching her at all. Before she pulled her arms through the sleeves, he had he turn to the side a little. He ran his hands up her back to her bra clip and undid it.

He pulled his hands out and grabbed the towel again, as he went to slide his hand back under her top, she stopped him. "I know you are angry about everything that has happened but please no more yelling tonight Tony?"

God, he felt like he could cry hearing her ask him that. "I'm not angry at you Chelle but yes, no more yelling."

"Do you trust me?"

"With my life. I'll never forgive myself for what happened tonight because of how I acted."

"I understand you must have trouble trusting people after Nina."

Tony was really shocked. "Tonight was nothing about Nina. It was about me getting jealous and losing my temper because I felt out of control."

"Why out of control?"

"All I want is a chance with you and it the 1st day I finally get you out of the office and it ends up being a complete disaster." The blood was contusing to run down her cheeks and everything again and he could see she was going very pale. "I don't have to do this Chelle if you are too uncomfortable, the doctor can, but you are getting worse by the minute." He started to take his hand out from under shirt.

She caught his hand, "No, it's ok, I just didn't want you to touch me like that if you were still angry with me."

She was even more special and amazing that he could have imagined. Knowing that it is a big deal to her for him to touch her intimately made him feel special. He knew there wouldn't have been too many other guys that would have been special like that to her.

As he just about reached her breast, it was him this time that stopped. "You can't let me do this baby, let me think I do have a chance with you if you are going to leave or never be able to forgive me. Please don't let me think you will consider giving me a go if you don't think deep down I could be what you want."

"I thought today was about us giving things a go?"

"I'm not talking about a fling or something Chelle. I want a chance at something 'real' with you"

"I could never just have a fling with you Tony."

For a brief moment he was wanted to lunge at her until he remembered the horrible situation they were in and the fact that Chelle was getting worse by the minute.

He ran the cloth over her bare breast. He could feel blood on her stomach and everything. He had her lay back and lifted her top up completely. It didn't take him long once he could see what he was doing to clean her up. He could tell she was holding her breath the entire time and he felt like he was too.

When he finished, he leaned in and gave her a very tender kiss on the lips.

"This is going to get hard honey but we will get through everything, alright? You just have to trust me."

"I do. Can I have more of the pain tablets?"

"I think we need to wait for the doctor, he should be here any minute and I am sure he will want to give you a strong injection for the pain like this morning."

He kept the towel pressed up against the wound to try and stop the bleeding. He helped her pull the PJ bottoms on and then he asked if he could bring his mum in and introduce her. Michelle told him that was fine, although she felt nervous as hell meeting his mum in this condition.

He kissed her again before opening the door and calling for his mum and Jess.

Tony's mum Natalie slowly entered the room with Jess. He hugged his mum and then Tony introduced her to Michelle. Natalie had heard all about Michelle from Tony and the sight of her brought tears to her eyes. "Can I hug you?"

Michelle nodded and carefully stood up and allowed herself to be enclosed in Tony's mother's arms. When she pulled back Natalie spoke to them both. "Jess has filled me in on everything she can. I can't thank you both enough for what you have done. Michelle, I don't even know what to say...thank you for protecting my daughter like that,"

"Thanks Mrs Almeida. I am sorry I am in such a state."

"Call me Natalie." She sat down on the other side of Michelle and looked at her eye, then looked up at Tony, "Don't you have anything we can put on that until the doctor arrives?"

He shook his head. "I just keep applying a bit of pressure with the towel to try and stop the bleeding." Michelle interrupted them. "Tony what am I going to do about Nick?

"How do you feel about me calling him and explaining what has happened? You won't be able to be on the phone as soon as the doctor is here anyway.

Michelle was nodding her head. Jess got up and let Tony sit beside her. "Ok but I don't know what to do about tomorrow? I can't go."

"What was it meant to be?"

Jess and Natalie could already see the tears forming in Michelle's eyes. "Do you want us to wait outside?

Tony waited for Michelle's reaction. "Jess you already heard our screaming match. I am so sorry..."

"Michelle, none of this would have happened if it wasn't for me. I want to help."

Tony butted in. "I don't want to hear either of you two apologise again. Chelle, what was tomorrow all about and what were you meant to do?

She took a deep breath, "As I said, Dad was a Federal agent. He was killed 2 years ago tomorrow in the line of duty. Last year 15 of his colleagues and a few close friends all met at the cemetery to share stories about him with each other. I was meant to be taking the food because we have a picnic. Some of the others bring wine and beer, some bring flowers, all kinds of things. I was meant to phone Nick this morning to tell him what time so he could let everyone know."

Both Jess and Natalie gasped in shock and were unable to find words. Tony put the towel back on Michelle's head again, he was getting worried at how much it was bleeding. She flinched in pain. "I don't even know what to say Chelle. I can't even imagine losing one of my parents. I am just so so sorry."

Michelle tried to pull her head back away from the towel a bit but as soon as she did blood poured out getting into her eye, down her cheek. She tried to wipe her eye but she couldn't. Tony was getting really anxious. "Where's the fucking doctor?"

Jess jumped up, "I'll go call him again." Natalie went to get some fresh towels.

Tony cupped Michelle's chin. "I'll try and clean it baby. Just keep that eye closed."

"How bad is it Tony?"

He sighed, he couldn't sugar coat it for her, and she would see it for herself soon enough anyway. "Where the stitches have come out they have ripped your skin baby, so it is a lot wider and I think that's why it is bleeding so badly."

Natalie came back in with the fresh towels and handed them to Tony. "While I try and wipe this Chelle, why don't you tell me about Nick."

"Nick was Dad's best friend and partner for over 30 years. He has always been like a 2nd Dad to me. He doesn't have kids of his own so I guess he kinda looked at me like I was a daughter to him. When Dad was killed, Nick had me stay at his place for months afterwards because I just wasn't handling it very well. He had promised my Dad years ago that if anything ever happened to him he would always make sure I was ok. I couldn't have gotten through the last couple years if it wasn't for Nick."

Tony felt like even more of a fool for how he had acted. He was trying to wipe around Michelle's eye but she kept flinching back. "Sorry it hurts."

"I know honey, I'm sorry."

Jess came back in and told them the doctor would be here any minute. She stood staring at Tony trying to help Michelle. She was racked with guilt as she saw how much pain she was in. She felt like completely losing it herself but she was trying as hard as she could to keep it together.

Tony needed to get Nick's information from Michelle. "Baby, I'll call Nick when the doctor gets here. I'll explain what's happened and maybe he and I can work together on making sure everything gets sorted for tomorrow?"

"His number is in my phone, tell him I am so sorry. But Tony I can't go tomorrow."

He took her hand. "Why not baby?"

She looked around at Tony, his mother and sister. How could she explain to them that she would fall apart if she went tomorrow? She could barely make sense of anything in her own head right now. "I just can't..."

"Chelle, I can't even imagine how difficult it will be, especially after what has just happened at CTU but I don't want you to regret not going. I'll take you, I'll be by your side the entire time."

"Don't worry you can tell Nick I'll still get all the food and everything, I'll do everything I was meant to but I won't be staying."

Before Tony had a chance to respond, the door bell went. Jess ran to let the doctor in.

Tony and Natalie both stood up to allow the doctor to get in close to Michelle. He took one look at the wound and sighed. "What's happened?"

"I took my sweater off too roughly and I ripped the stitches..."

Tony butted in. "The buttons got caught on them."

"You probably should have gone to the hospital for this." He pointed to the sides of the wound wear the old stitches had ripped the skin. "You see how this has widened the wound and with each little tear mark it makes it very difficult for me to stitch it neatly." He studied Michelle's face and took her blood pressure. "You are very pale Michelle and your blood pressure is high. How are you feeling?"

Michelle was way too quick to respond. "I'm fine."

Tony shot her a look of disbelief. "You are not fine. You have been through hell today. You were having a panic attack when all this happened, you've..."

"Tony! What are you doing?" Michelle looked extremely hurt.

He bent down beside her, "He needs to know everything Chelle so he knows what to do for you."

"I didn't have a panic attack because of my eye, I had one because I realised how bad I screwed everything up."

"When are you going to give yourself a break Michelle? Anyone would have done the same thing. You were scared, I was yelling at you, accusing you of things, you had been assaulted, it's no bloody wonder you didn't want to get into a conversation about your Dad or make a damn phone call."

"Who cares what the reasons are, I still let people down and you can't act now as if none of it matters because you have been so angry at me all night."

The doctor told Tony and Michelle to calm down and then he had Michelle lie on her back so he could get to her eye. "I'm going to give you something for the pain first and then I'll try stitching the rest of this back up."

Tony stayed with Michelle until she had been given the needle and then he asked his mum to stay with her whilst he went and called Nick.

Natalie sat on the other side of Michelle and Jess joined them. Jess was teary. "All of this is my fault. I shouldn't have called you guys, none of this would have happened."

"It's not your fault Jess. You can't control what Sam did..."

"Yeah but you and Tony were so happy and now you guys keep fighting..."

"That's because I got freaked out Jess and didn't know how to handle the situation."

"I'm sorry about your Dad, Michelle." Natalie was holding Michelle's hand and rubbing Jess's back. "Do you mind if I ask where your mother is Michelle?"

"She left us a long time ago. I was only 4. My Dad raised my brother Danny and I. I haven't seen or heard from her since."

"I'm sorry."

The doctor told Michelle he needed her to keep completely still whilst he did the stitches. The room was silent. Natalie felt so bad for all of them. She could see how shaken up Jess was over the whole situation and she could see the pain on Michelle's face.

Just as the doctor was finished with Michelle, Tony walked back in. After he checked Michelle's wound he listened to the doctors instructions of how to look after the wound. He made it very clear that Michelle needed to try and keep calm and get some rest.

After the doctor was gone, Tony sat back down next to Michelle. "I had a really good chat with Nick. I explained who I was and told him what had happened the last couple days. He was completely shocked baby. He is taking care of the preparations for tomorrow. But he would really like you to come."

"Did you tell him I wasn't?"

"I told him you didn't want to but that I would talk to you about it again. We both think you will regret not going."

"You don't understand Tony, it's too soon after the other day. I'll spend the whole time thinking about what happened and I don't want to think about it."

"I do understand Chelle. I was there remember and both of us are going to have to deal with this...maybe this is a good place to start?"

"I'll just go the cemetery later on my own."

"I want to help you through this Chelle, I don't want you on your own."

"You have enough to worry about Tony. You need to take care of Jess. The last thing you need is a..."

Why are you shutting me out?"

"I'm not."

"You are. Don't you think we need to talk about everything that has happened?"

"I already know how pissed you have been Tony. I know how much I let you down before and upset you."

"Chelle I feel like all I've done all day is put my foot in it, upset you, say the wrong thing, do the wrong this and worst of all not know what to say. I wasn't angry, I was acting jealous – I told you, I know it's not any better and I had no right to act that way but everything I have done is all because I care about you. You said I had a chance with you Chelle and now already you are shutting me out."

Michelle jumped off the bed and started pacing the room.

"You need to lie down CHelle."

"I haven't shut you out. I told you about my Dad, do you get that I've never ever spoken to anyone about him. I let you talk to Nick." She looked at Natalie and Jess who were sitting together, Natalie with her arm around her daughter and both of their eyes glued to the floor. Michelle lowered her voice, "When you were trying to clean up the blood, I let you see me...touch me. How is that shutting you out?"

"I know and I know you were nervous..."

Jess and Natalie both got up and told them they would be in the next room. Tony was glad to for the privacy.

"I was trying to make you feel better, I was scared."

"You did make me feel better Tony. But I told you I couldn't just have a fling with you, that was me trying to open up to you and tell you how I feel about you."

"Yeah but through this whole thing Michelle you haven't once come out and said it."

"Come out and said what?"

Tony's voice was getting louder and louder. "I don't know what you want with me?"

"You haven't told me either Tony! I'm the one that kissed you, took your hand in holding. Fuck, I even asked you to kiss me in the hospital..."

"And the fact the I went crazy when I thought you were talking to another guy didn't give you the biggest fucking hint that this isn't a game to me, that what I am feeling is serious."

"You were like that because I was lying to you. Why haven't you just out right told me how you feel? I'm sick of putting myself out there with you and not knowing where I stand."

"I wouldn't let you go home by yourself tonight, I've been trying to hold you every second I can..."

"Because of what happened with Sam...

"Wait a minute, just wait a God damn minute...you think all of this, the way I have been acting is just because I feel guilty about what happened with Sam?"

"I'm not saying it in a bad way Tony but the truth is, I am here at your place tonight because of what happened..."

"I want to look after you yes but..."

"You asked me to coffee this morning Tony that's all, we didn't know that all this was going to happen." She was starting to feel light headed.

Tony could see she was looking unsteady and getting paler. "Sit down Michelle!"

She held on to the back of a chair but she didn't sit down, she felt too agitated."

Tony raised his voice. "I can't fucking believe this. What kind of prick person do you really think I am? Of course I feel guilty over what happened today. You were with me, helping me out and you get assaulted by some asshole. You don't think I am hating myself right now for putting you in that kind of danger and then not being able to stop you from getting hurt? After everything that happened with Nina, do you know I haven't been with another girl since? I haven't slept with anyone, fuck I haven't even held hands with a woman since her. I didn't think I'd ever put myself in a position to get hurt again. Then you come along and turn everything upside down for me. Couldn't you see how scared to death I was when I lifted your shirt up? And even though I knew it wasn't a romantic thing, it still felt intimate for me. Even though I knew the only reason I was allowed to be that close to you was because you were hurt, it made me feel closer to you. I wanted you to stay the night so I could look after you, know that you were alright and hopefully get closer to you. Yet twice now I have had to physically stop you from leaving, I've had to force you to talk to me and open up. I've had to stand by and watch you in pain and not be able to do anything about it. You won't even fucking listen to me when I tell you to sit down. Have I seriously screwed things up that bad Michelle? Have I disappointed you so much that I have ruined any chance I had with you?"

There was silence as they both tried to take everything in. Tony was so surprised at himself for his outburst. He was sure his mum and sister would have heard every word. She was swaying and clearly holding herself up by holding onto the back of the chair. He was so angry now that she wouldn't sit or lie down. He was so racked with guilt that this had happened to him. She still hadn't said a word.

"Why won't you fucking sit down? Why won't you answer my questions?"

She did as he asked and sat down. His words had shocked her to the core. She didn't even know where to start. "No you haven't screwed everything up... I feel like I am the one that has fucked everything up."

Michelle didn't know what else to say yet so she let the first thing that came to mind drop out of her mouth. "I haven't been with anyone since I met you either Tony."

He was blunt, not because he meant to be but because he was still so worked up. "Bullshit. I know about you and David."

"What?"

"Why do you think I barley even talk to the guy? I'm sick to death of hearing him go on and on about you. You couldn't have picked a less classy guy, He has told me all about what it is like to be with the 'amazing Michelle Dessler'!"

"And when was I supposedly with him?"

"A few months ago."

"And you just fucking believe him?"

"It's a little hard not to when you get given details down to the little tattoo you have on your ass."

Michelle was fuming. She was going to kill David. She stood up and started to undo her pants.

Tony's mouth dropped open. "What are you doing?"

"Clearly my word means nothing over his, so you can see for yourself Tony. I don't have a fucking tattoo." She turned around and started to pull her PJ bottoms down.

When Tony saw she was even pulling her underwear down his heart started racing. Was she seriously going to do this? "Chelle don't, you don't have to..."

"No, I do. Just fucking look Tony! Then maybe you will start thinking a little more of me then some slut who..."

"You are not a slut. And you have every right to be with him. I didn't own you."

She took a few steps backwards so that she was standing right in front of him with her back to him. She yanked her pants and underwear down to the top of her thighs showing Tony her entire backside.

He stood there speechless. In total awe of her. He had never wanted to touch something so bad in his life. He felt himself completely turned on.

"Any tattoo's Tony?...anything even close to one?"

He was still speechless. He reached his hand out to touch her but then pulled himself back. He couldn't believe she was doing this.

"I'm an idiot. I'm sorry. You are not a slut Michelle. I never thought that, I could never think that. I...God...I..."

She wasn't moving so he stepped in so he was only inches away from her. He reached down to the top of her underwear, he could feel her flinch. He slowly pulled them back up, purposely running the back of his hands along her bottom as he did so. Once they were up, he did the same thing with her PJ bottoms. She went to turn around but he stopped her. "You can't...not yet."

Her voice was quiet and shaky, clearly full of nerves. "Why?"

He sighed. "I wasn't expecting that, seeing you like that. Oh My God...I mean it's you. I've thought about you..." he stopped himself, conscious of not coming across as obsessed...which he was with her.

"Are you angry?"

His laugh was full of embarrassment. "No, I'm not angry Chelle. I'm...you've...I'm turned on, ok? I'm obviously turned on!"

There was an awkward silence.

"Look, you can't expect to do something like that...I mean show me that and not expect me to..."

"I can't believe I just did that but I am so angry that he would say that and that you would believe him. I meant what I said – I haven't been with anyone since we met. When you touched me before, that was the first time in a long, long time."

Tony stepped back so he could sit on the bed. "You can turn around now. I'm sorry Chelle."

She turned around, her face was bright red. Even though he was sitting, she could still tell he was turned on. She tried not look but couldn't help herself. Tony could tell she looked and he went red himself.

"I can't believe with everything that is happening, after the way I just yelled at you, that you would do that, just to prove that to me."

"I didn't know what else to do. I'm obviously doing a horrible job at expressing how I feel tonight, that was the one thing I could think of that you couldn't argue against. I don't like hearing you say all that stuff about yourself Tony, how could you say you hate yourself for what happened? I'm not good at opening myself up and I am scared to death of so many things right now and I am trying to figure out where I stand with you and I'm so, so angry with myself for everything. Maybe I thought if you could see how far I was willing to go to prove to you that I wasn't lying about David, you would understand that I'm not intentionally trying to shut you out or make you mad and upset."

Tony stood up and walked over to her. "Come here" he said softly as he sat down on the chair pulling her onto his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close.

"I'm in love with you Chelle. I don't just 'like' you, I am totally and utterly in love with you. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I've been so crazy because I feel so out of control at the moment. I was floored when you kissed me but I was also scared to death because it made me just fall for you even harder and I'm petrified of feeling this way and not being able to have you. When Sam hit you today I was so angry with myself for not protecting you. Watching you tonight in so much pain and blood all over you has made me feel sick to my stomach. I am so lost at the moment, I just don't know what to do."

Tears were pouring down Michelle's cheeks. "I love you Tony. I have for a long time."

"You don't have to say that..."

She cupped his chin in her hand and made him look at her. "I mean it Tony. I love you. I'm scared just like you, I've never felt this way about anyone."

He pulled her down into a deep and passionate kiss. It was rough and intense as they both poured all of their emotions from the night into the kiss. He ran his hand across her stomach and she played with his hair.

Eventually they both pulled back and stared at each other. "How does your eye feel honey?

"It hurts. The cut is not too bad but the whole side of my face is throbbing."

"I wish I could do something to make you better. I do need to clean you up again."

"How do you think Jess is doing? She was pretty upset when she was in here."

"Shall we go check?"

Michelle nodded and hopped off him. He took her hand, "We still have a lot to talk about sweetheart." She agreed with him and then let him lead her out to the living room.

They weren't surprised to find Jess in tears being comforted by Natalie. When Jess looked up and saw them she ran into Tony's arms'. "I am so sorry. I can't believe what you guys are going through because of me. What can I do? There has to be something I can do to help."

Tony kept his arm around his sister. "Jess, you have to hear what I am saying, you did NOTHING wrong. I am glad you called me, I always want me to call me when you need me. I am your brother, I'd do anything for you. What happened today was Sam's fault and no one else's."

"Yeah but look at what it is doing to you guys."

Tony led both Jess and Michelle over to the couch and had his mum join them. "Look, you know I can never really tell you guys what goes on at work but I know you both saw plenty on the news that last couple days to know some pretty major things went happened. CTU was responsible for heading up the investigation. Michelle and I were heavily involved right from the start. The terrorists planted a bomb in our offices and we lost a lot of good people. It was probably one of the worst days of our lives." He looked at jess and his mom, "You both know how I have felt about Michelle now for a long time and during the course of the day we really leaned on each other. This morning we were going to go and have a coffee together, and that's when you called. So Jess, there is so much to all of this then what just happened with Sam."

Michelle could see Natalie was crying. She got up and put her arms around her. Natalie held her tight. "I've always been so proud of Tony and what he does but I don't think a day goes by that I don't worry about something happening. I don't think I could ever understand the stress you both must be under, or the bond you two must have from going through things like that together."

"I trust Tony with my life, he is my rock and I don't think I'd get through this job without him by my side."

"Michelle, you are an amazing young woman. What you did for my daughter today is something I'll always be in debt to you for. And I see how my son looks at you and I know how he feels about you and you make him so happy. I am so grateful to you for that. I never met Nina, but after the way she betrayed Tony I didn't know how he was going to recover from that and I know it is because of you that he has that glint back in his eyes and that cheeky little smile. Thank you."

Michelle looked at the the 3 of them and felt a sharp pain in her heart for what she missed out on without her own family. "You guys are so lucky to have each other." She looked at Natalie, "I wish my mother could have been half the mum you are."

Natalie took her hand. "It's your mother loss not to have someone so special as you in her life Michelle. I want you to know, I am here for you. I know we have only just met but I already feel such a bond with you, I want to be a part of your life."

Tony sat behind Michelle with his legs out straight and pulled her in between them so her back was leaning into his stomach. "I know you don't want to talk about this baby, but we absolutely have to. Tomorrow is a really important day for you and I want you to go."

"Tony please don't go there..."

"I have to Chelle, I don't want you to regret not going. I won't leave your side the entire time."

Both Jess and Natalie said they would like to go if Michelle wanted them there for support.

Michelle stood up, Tony tried to hold her but she pulled out of his grip. "You are all so lovely and I appreciate what you are trying to do but I just can't. I'm not strong like you Tony..."

"You are so much stronger than you think Chelle. Come back."

This is why I didn't want to tell you about the call from Nick."

"So were you just going to pretend tomorrow wasn't happening if I didn't find out?'

She was pacing the room. All Tony wanted was for her to sit down. She was meant to be taking it to easy and yet she had been up and down all night, not to mention so riled up.

"Yes...no...maybe. I don't know."

"Don't you want to be there and have your time to share good memories about your Dad with all the people that knew him best? I know Nick wants to see how you are doing. Please come sit back down."

This was the one subject Michelle really hadn't learnt how to handle. It made her so flustered she could never sit down, it just mad her want to run away and hide. "I can't sit." She steadied herself on the edge of the dining room table. "Of course I want to be there for Dad. I feel like a horrible daughter for not even feeling this way. I don't know how to handle this Tony, I don't know how to talk about it, I don't know how to think about it. I just want to disappear. Or go to sleep and wake up on Monday."

Natalie watched as Michelle started to sway, she was clearly having trouble standing up. She was worries she was going to pass out or something. She jumped up and steadied Michelle. Tony also got up and started pacing the room. "Tell me what is holding you back so much about tomorrow. I feel like you there is something you are thinking or worried about that you are not saying."

There was and Tony's words freaked Michelle out even more, like he was too close to figuring out what she was thinking. It made her star to panic, "Nothing. Look, maybe I should just go, take some time to think about things on my own..."

"Don't you dare, don't you even think about it!"

Michelle started to make her way across the room. "Look, it will give you some time with your family..."

"Stop running away from this!"

"I'm not."

"Yes you are!"

"So what if I am? What does it matter?"

Natalie spoke in a soothing voice. "Michelle, we all care. What you are feeling is going to follow you where ever you go. You can't escape it."

Tony raised his voice. "What exactly happened to your father?"

Michelle stared at Tony. He was close, was too close to making her blurt everything out and then it would all be too 'real', way too much to deal with.

Tony could tell by the way she looked at him that there was so much more to all of this then she had told him. Something that was scaring the life out of her. He was shocked to death when dropped her gaze and said very calmly. "I'm leaving." With that she turned and started to make her way to the door,

Tony jumped over the sofa and caught her-. "Like hell you are."

"You can't make me stay."

"Just watch me Chelle." They stared each other down. "What happened? I'll pick up the damn phone and call Nick."

Tears started streaming down her face. She tried to move past him but he wrapped his arms around her and held her so tight she could barely move."

"I'm begging you Tony, don't do this. Please dear God, don't do this."

"You promised me before you wouldn't leave. You promised me Chelle you wouldn't do this. What has got you so scared?"

"Please Tony."

"You were willing to go to jail the other day, the things you have been through...what the hell could be making you so scared?"

Her breathing started to get out of control again. She was struggling to catch her breath, it was so short and shallow. Tony released his tight grip on her. His heart started to pound, she was going to have another panic attack. "Shit, No! Shit...Chelle baby..." He tried rubbing her back and telling her to take deep breaths buts it wasn't working. "Jess grab me my medicine box."

Jess ran into the kitchen and got the box and took it to Tony. Michelle was bent over at this point trying to speak, trying to cry, trying to breath but couldn't do any of them.

Tony pulled a valium injection out. "Baby, you are having a panic attack, I'm going to give you some valium, it will help."

Natalie grabbed a paper bag and handed it to Michelle, "Try breathing into this honey."

Michelle got out the word 'bomb' but that was it. Tony knew she was finally trying to tell him something. She slid down against the wall down onto the floor. Tony was scared to death. "He held her hand, "Just concentrate on breathing sweetheart, just breathe."

As the injection started to take effect, her breathing slowed down. He had given her quite a large dose.

Tony had Jess hold Michelle's hand as he went to get her some water. Natalie followed Tony into the kitchen. "She would take her to the hospital?" Tony turned to his mum and fell into her arms. "What have I done? Look what I did to her? I pushed her, I lost my temper again,"

"She will be ok sweetheart."

"You don't understand, she has never had a panic attack before tonight and now she has had two. Because of me. You should see the shit she goes through at work and how calm and collected she can remain and now because of me this is happening. I'm a bastard, an absolute fucking bastard mum. I just love her so much. I get so scared and lose control but I just don't understand. What could possibly be scaring her so much?"

Natalie just held her son and told him she loved him and that Michelle would be ok. Within a minute he rushed back to Michelle's side. She was a lot calmer, instinct she went to rub her teary eyes and yelped in pain. Tony grabbed her hand, "I love you, I love you much. I am so sorry." He picked her up in his arms and carried her to the couch. He sat with her still in his arms, afraid to let go. He could tell the injection had taken full effect as she looked as calm as he had seen her in days.

"You know how there was a bomb at CTU a couple days ago Tony?"

"Yes baby."

Her words were slurred; he hoped he hadn't over done it with the valium.

"I thought you had been killed in it. You ran upstairs to get Paula and then it went off and I couldn't find you. Then I saw a body lying under a table and I thought it was you."

He stroked her hair. "But I am safe baby."

I went to visit my Dad at work the day he was killed. We were meant to have lunch. We were walking out the door and he realized he had forgotten his wallet and so he went back into the office. There was a huge explosion. Someone had planted a bomb, just like what happened at CTU. I ran back inside to find him, I was screaming his name and he wasn't answering. I looked under the table in his office and he was there. I tried to pick the table up off him but there was all this other stuff on it and it was too heavy. I was screaming his name but he wouldn't answer. He was dead."

Tony felt like his heart stopped. Never in a million years would he have imagined this is what she had been through. Tears poured uncontrollably down his cheeks.

"When I saw that man lying under the table at CTU and I thought it was you, all I could picture was my Dad. And that I had lost you in that same way.

You want me to go to this thing tomorrow and share happy memories. I can't think of any of those right now. All I can think about it those 2 bombs and how I almost lost you in exactly the same way. It still doesn't feel real that you are with me, that you survived. When you are holding me, it's the only time I can feel it's real and that you are still here.

I was so close to Dad, he was everything to me. But over the last year, you have become to mean everything to me. What would I have done if I had lost you? Don't make me go there and pretend that I am ok, don't make me go and have to hear about that day again. Please."

Tony was trying to take it all in but it was so much to register. His tears were covering her. He pulled her in closer to his body and held on a tight. "I won't make you go anywhere sweetheart. I am going to hold you all day, I'm going to show you that I am here with you. I am so sorry. Words will never be enough to explain to you how sorry I am. You are the bravest, most incredible woman in the world Chelle. How you have gotten through all this, I'll never know. How you managed to keep working after that happened and did what you did is unbelievable. Your dad is looking down on you and he is so proud of you. I love you with all of my heart."

Tony looked up at his mum and sister who were in complete and utter shock. Words failed them.

"I really don't have to go?"

He kissed her on the lips. "No. I'll call Nick in the morning. I am sorry I pushed you so hard."

"You didn't know Tony."

They say like that for a long time. Tony just in shock and Michelle battling the valium. Tony looked at his watch. It was 3am. Michelle still had blood on her and the t-shirt which was now also soaked with his tears, "How about we get cleaned up and I'll hold you in bed?"

"I'd like that." She gave him a smile.

"God, I love your small."

He helped Michelle up. Natalie said that she would stay in the spare room with Jess in case they needed anything. They all hugged before Tony led Michelle to his bedroom.

**tHANKS FOR READING BUT PLEASE REVIEW. I NEED TO KNOW IF I SHOULD KEEP WRITING THE STORY AND POSTING HERE OR NOT OR NOT. CHEERS**


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own 24 etc...some bad language Thanks for reading**

Michelle felt revolting. She still had dried blood on her face, neck, chest and hands. Her face was so read and tear stained. She wanted a shower but she didn't have the energy to have one after the valium Tony had given her. "I need to clean up Tony but I can't manage a shower I don't think."

Considering her words were still slurred and he was supporting her as they walked he didn't think she would get through a shower either. "How about I wash you up the best I can?"

She nodded her head and he led her into the bathroom. As he had her sit on one of the steps leading up to the bath tub she started asking him questions. The valium made her feel calm enough she would say anything at this point and she certainly didn't have a guard up for what she would open up about at this point either. "You know Tony, Chapelle, Brad – just about any of those guys from division that you have issues with..."

He smiled wondering where this was leading, "Yeah."

"You piss them off all the time!"

He laughed. He was running some warm water and getting some towels ready.

"And they piss you off all the time. I mean, I've seen you have some pretty serious stand-off's with those guys. I mean, I know they are dicks but you have a bad temper as well..."

He was kneeling in front of her now, still chuckling. "Maybe I shouldn't have given you so much of that stuff..."

She waved her hand out, "Nah, I'm fine, really. But I need to ask you?"

"Go ahead..."

"In all those times I've seen you fight with someone, I've never seen you lose it like you have with me tonight."

That stung to hear her say it, although he knew it was true. He proceeded to use a warm wet wash cloth and run it all over her neck, face and hands. "That's because I don't care about them they way I care about you sweetheart. I've never felt the way I did tonight before and it scared the hell out of me."

"Why?"

"Because I love you and I've been scared all night I was going to lose you. I've never seen you the way you were tonight either Chelle."

"I've never seen myself like that. I mean, I've said things to you...and your family...that I have never told anyone. I'm sorry for the way I have handled things. I just really don't know how to get my head around everything."

"I am sorry as well Chelle. I am had no control of my temper tonight. I just want to be able to fix everything and make it better but I can't. I want to take your pain away but I can't...it makes me feel so useless."

She had picked up a wet cloth and wash washing her legs, anywhere she could reach. "I'm not use to anyone looking after me honey and the way you have today has been amazing. You are so protective and sensitive, I love it." She felt like everything was in slow motion and that her vision was a little blurry. "Jeez Tony how much of that shit did you give me? I feel stoned!"

He laughed. "I panicked. I wanted to try and stop the panic attack before it got really bad. Have you had one before?"

She shook her head but then nodded. "Umm...I had one after my Dad died. I had been in to see the lawyer and they were going over Dad's estate with me and Danny and what we had been left. It just made it all feel so real. I kept it together until I got home but then I just started crying and crying until I got so worked up that I ended up having one. Never since then though."

Tony was ready to try and clean around her eye and side of her face. He held her head still and was as gentle as possible. "It's pretty scary. I never want you to have to go through that again." He wiped over the huge swollen bruise. "Is this ok?"

"Yeah, thank you."

"Tony?"

"Yeah?"

"We really need to talk a lot of things out hey?"

He leaned in and kissed her on the forehead. "We do. Some pretty major things came up tonight that we really need to talk out. Maybe tomorrow we can have some lunch and make a start?"

"Ok."

"One thing though Chelle. Why do you keep trying to leave? "

"I could see how angry I was making you and I didn't know what to say and I kept just thinking I couldn't handle it anymore. I guess I just got scared and didn't know how to face it all."

"You understand though that I'd never let you leave when things were like that? I'd have literally picked you up and locked you in my bedroom tonight if I had to. I couldn't stand the thought of you outside on your own feeling like that. Besides how upset you were, you really need to be watched with this wound. It's going to feel pretty miserable for a few days. So promise me again, cause you broke the last one...that you won't leave me like that?"

She nodded. "I promise."

As he started to wash his own face he looked over at her. "What ya thinking? You look deep in thought...or are you just still off with the fairies?"

She went to stand up but lost her balance a little and he caught her. He picked her up and sat her on the counter next to the sink. "Just sit there while I wash up, then I'll help you up ok?"

"Ok." She watched him take his top off and use the cloth to wash his chest and underarms. She appreciated that he wasn't having a shower clearly because she wasn't able to. "Tony, there is something I'd really like to do tomorrow."

"What's that?"

"Remember a little while ago we were working that Lawson case and we were at the office all night waiting on the reports to come in?"

"Yeah..."

"And we were flipping through magazines and you showed me a picture of that watch you really liked?"

"You mean the Tag Heuer grand Carrera?

"Yeah, that thing."

He laughed, "Thing? Thing? That sweetheart, is a master piece...not a thing! And what on earth made you think of that?"

"Because I'd like to go and buy it for you tomorrow."

"WHAT? Honey they are thousands of dollars." He gave her a funny look as if to check she was still with it.

"Doesn't matter what it cost. You really want one."

He realised she was actually being serious. He wiped his face dry and stood in front of her and held her hands."

"You are the sweetest thing but there are many reasons why that's not going to happen. 1) You don't need to buy me anything. 2) They are ridiculously expensive...you have no idea...where has this even coming from Chelle?"

She dropped eye contact and her voice quietened and went a little weak. "My Dad was an extremely wealthy man. Not from being an agent...we both know how much they screw us over with that, but he had owned his own computer business when he was younger and he sold it for millions. Then he invested it well and made enough money that his grandchildren would never have to lift a finger. Danny and I both got half of his money each. I have never touched a cent of it."

Tony looked at her like he was trying to understand. Her eyes started to well up and he wiped them. "It was like if I spent any of the money then it was another way of having to accept that he is gone. I just haven't been able to touch it. I never thought I'd meet someone that would be half the man Dad was. I never thought I'd allow myself to love someone again in case I lost them. He was the best person I knew. He was such an honourable man."

He kissed away her tears and she looked up at him. "You are an honourable man Tony. Over the last year I've gotten to see in you all of the qualities in my Dad that were so special. I don't even mean just as my 'boyfriend' or whatever we are...I mean you, just you as a person and who you have been to me over the last year. I'm ready to accept the money. I'd like the first cent I spend of it to be on you. And I think tomorrow is the perfect day to do that."

Tony had tears running down his own cheeks now. "I don't even know what to say Chelle...that is like the most incredible, beautiful thought in the world and I am so honoured you would think that but I'm sure your Dad would want you to spend the money on you...something that makes you happy."

"But that would make me happy. It feels right. I know my Dad would be so happy you are in my life, he would be so grateful for the person you have been to me over the past year. Tomorrow is a day that I need to find a little more closure of losing Dad and you know that I can't do that with a pile of people like I was meant to but I still want a way of marking the day somehow. I want to go to the cemetery, just not when everyone else is going to be there. I really want to do this Tony..."

"But its thousands of dollars baby..."

"No one else knows this but I have more money than I'll ever know how to spend. The price doesn't mean anything. Do you still like the watch?"

He smiled. "Of course, it's like a dream watch to me but..."

"But just say yes. Help me move forward Tony. Let's go get the watch before lunch, please?"

Tony was just gobsmacked. "You really want to do this? After all the jerk things I've said and done today? I want to be a part of helping you heal with your Dad baby but I'd never expect anything from you, I want to help you, do something for you..."

"This is doing something for me. I could have lost you the other day Tony, just like I lost my Dad. I've been given a second chance and I don't want to waste anymore time letting life just pass me by. I want you to have the watch; I want to see the smile on your face when you put it on."

He was shaking his head in disbelief but biting his top lip and smiling at the same time. "Before I answer, I need to ask you a question. I've told you I love you, you mean more to me than anything else in this world. I want you to be mine Chelle. Will you let me be that special person in your life?"

"Yes, I need you Tony."

He pulled her in and hugged her tightly before smothering her good side with kisses, and then he whispered in her ear. "I'd love that...I even know where the store is that have them!"

She laughed. "Thank you."

"No baby, thank you. Wow I can't even believe this. I am so excited! You are amazing."

"Good it's settled then!"

He picked her up off the counter. "You need sleep...come on."

He still had to keep a hold of her as they walked. She giggled to herself and Tony thought it was the best sound he had heard for days. She looked up at him, "Oh and while we are at it, Jess needs a new TV, Sam broke hers..."

"I think you need to let the drugs wear off a bit baby before you get carried away..."

"You don't understand Tony, she can't afford to be missing shows like Friends and Sex in the City, Grey's...should I continue?"

He laughed, "I get the point...but we will chat about that in the morning."

As they neared the bed, Michelle slowed down and hesitated.

"What's wrong?"

"Where do you want me to sleep? I mean I can go to the..."

He put a finger to her lips. "Are you saying you are going to make me sleep on my own tonight? After all this?"

"I'm just...it's us...it's you Tony. My boss..."

He laughed really hard. "Your boss? I thought I just got upgraded to boyfriend? No funny business I promise, but you've gotta let me hold you tonight baby." He jumped in and pulled the covers back for her. "I've seen your sweet, most beautiful butt today and I've held your breast, which fits perfectly in my hand by the way...just like you were made just for me, surely I get to hold you whilst you sleep?"

She climbed into the bed. "Speaking of that, I think I've been a little robbed today. The least you could do is strip to your boxers."

Without a seconds thought he pulled his track suit bottoms off and then his t-shirt. "More than fair enough." He pulled her in closer. "Wanna remove your trackie bottoms as well?"

She blushed, which he loved and then she pulled them off under the covers. He turned her on her side and spooned her. "You have no idea how many times I've tried to imagine having you in my arms in my bed Chelle. I feel like the luckiest guy in the world."

"Me too. Will that injection help me sleep?"

"You betcha, you will be out in minutes."

"I love you Tony, sweet dreams."

"I love you honey, sweet dreams. You let me know if you need anything ok?"

Michelle was sound asleep in moments. Tony spent a few minutes watching her sleep and making sure she was ok before he let himself doze off as well.

* * *

Natalie spent most of the night wide awake. Jess was tossing and turning and many times woke crying and Natalie comforted her back to sleep. The rest of the time she felt like she was listening out to make sure Tony and Michelle were ok. As a mother she felt the pain of watching her children in distress just as much as they did.

* * *

Tony woke up early the next morning and slid out of the bed, careful not to wake Michelle up. He called Nick straight away and explained everything and why Michelle wouldn't be able to go today. Nick completely understood. He simply asked Tony to take good care of her and for him to bring Michelle around for a visit in the next few days when she felt up for it. Tony told him that he was going to order a pile of food to be sent over seeing as Michelle was meant to be taking care of that. Nick told Tony that wasn't necessary but Tony insisted. He got the address and thanked Nick and told him they would be in touch soon.

Natalie joined him in the kitchen and helped him select what to order. He then called a local deli and ordered a pile of sandwiches, cakes, salads, drinks – enough to feed a village. He wasn't sure how many people were going for sure and he wanted to make sure he had it completely covered.

As he was finishing up on the phone, Natalie made them both a cup of coffee and asked Tony to sit on the couch with her.

"So how was Michelle last night?"

"Pretty good actually, we washed up, talked a little and then she crashed within minutes of getting into bed."

"She is very special Tony; you can't ever let this one go."

"Trust me mom, if I've learnt anything in the last few days it is how precious she is to me. I adore her like you wouldn't believe. I'll spend every day for the rest of my life trying to make her as happy as she makes me."

"I've never seen you like this before Tony. I like it. It is nice to have you open up, I feel like with your job and everything that has happened over the last couple years you never really open up anymore. "

"It's her mum. Michelle makes me feel like smiling, like everything will always be ok as long as I have her. You know, in a way I am glad it took us all this time to get together. She truly is my best friend. I'm in love with my best friend!"

Natalie loved watching Tony's eyes glow as he talked about Michelle but she had something serious she had to talk to him about before the girls were up and she missed her chance. She took his hand. "I know you went through an awful lot yesterday honey, more than I'll ever know but I need to talk to you about something that really concerns me."

"What?"

"Your temper."

"Mum..."

"I'm serious Tony, I get worried seeing you get so worked up. I am afraid you bottle things up and then finally just explode."

Tony looked uncomfortable. "I have to bottle things up, I'd never get through the days if I didn't."

"What have you been bottling up?"

"I don't know...just stuff."

"Jess said you really lost your temper with Michelle over that phone call with Nick. And I don't want you to be upset with her for mentioning it to me, she was just really worried about you. And she felt guilty that she had caused it all because of what happened with Sam."

"I was jealous mum. I admit, I really was out of control last night but it was over stuff that had been building up for a very long time."

"Like?"

"Mum, you know how I've felt about Michelle for a long time. Do you know what it's like being in love with someone when just about every other guy in the office wants her to? Not just that but I for a few months now, this one guy David had been lying to me that he was seeing her. I can't help it, I am just a jealous person. And then Chelle kissed me and I thought something was finally going to happen between us. I asked her to coffee and then all that stuff with Jess and Sam happened. Do you know how guilty I felt that Michelle got hurt because she had come to help me and Jess? Then I got scared to death that her feelings would change. When that phone call came in and I only heard Michelle's end of the conversation, I thought for sure she was talking to another guy and it was someone that was more than just a friend to her. I just lost it."

"Does Michelle understand everything? How does she feel about it?"

"Well she knows I'm hot headed, don't forget she has to work with me every day! She has seen me lose my temper a million times. A lot of the time she is the one that manages to calm me down. I told her last night I was jealous and I know I need to talk to her more about it today."

Natalie was nodding her head. Tony tried to lighten the mood. He nudged her, "come on mum, things couldn't have ended better when we went to sleep last night. I'll talk to Chelle and I promise I'll work on keeping my temper under control."

"Or maybe now that you have Michelle you could try opening up more and not bottling everything up so much!"

"I will, I promise."

He gave his mum a hug and thanked her for coming over last night and helping. Just as he was pulling away from the hug Michelle and Jess both stumbled into the room. Tony was shocked to see Michelle's face. One side of it was completely black and blue and her eye was barely open. It looked even worse than it had last night. He jumped up and gave her a hug and then Jess one as well.

Jess looked at Michelle. "Does your head hurt Chelle? You can't even open your eye?"

Michelle still seemed a little sleepy and they could all tell she was putting on a brave face. "I'm ok Jess. I look ugly as hell but I think I'll live."

Jess hugged her. "I swear, I'll never even talk to that asshole again."

Michelle smiled. "That would make me very happy. You deserve better."

Tony stood behind Michelle and kissed her on the neck. She loved having his arms around her. She said good morning to Natalie and then turned to Tony. "Do you mind maybe taking me to the shops? I have to get food for...for Dad's thing."

He kissed her again. "No need sweetheart. All taken care of."

"What do you mean?"

He spun her around and kept his hands on her waist. "I promised you that you wouldn't have to deal with any of that today. I called Nick earlier and explained that you wouldn't be there and then mum helped me pick a pile of food that we ordered. It is going to get delivered to Nick's just before he has to leave."

"You did all that for me?"

"Of course. Now that's the last you need to worry about that situation. Today is your day baby, I want you to tell me what you want."

Michelle grinned at Tony. "I want us to go shopping. All of us."

Natalie jumped in. "I will come if you would like me to Michelle but I do have a friend's birthday lunch..."

"Oh no, you can't miss that."

"Michelle, I know today is important for you and I want you to be here for you..."

"Natalie, you have been amazing, really. I'd hate you to miss your friend's birthday besides, I've got Tony and Jess."

Jess looked confused. "Don't you guys want time alone? Besides I've still got to sort out my apartment..."

Michelle turned and faced Jess. "No you have to come! We have a surprise for you..."

Tony finished off for Michelle, "besides, I still don't want you there on your own. You are staying here for a couple days."

"Jeez you're still as bossy as ever", she joked.

"Damn straight, I'm your big brother, I give orders."

Michelle was smiling. She loved this. She loved feeling like part of a family. "So can we go then?"

"Calm down, think I can shower first?"

Michelle leant forward and smelt him. "Yeah, better make it a long one." They all laughed.

* * *

Over the next hour or so they all got ready and said goodbye to Natalie. As much as Tony wanted to shower with Michelle he sensed she wasn't quite ready for that. He did worry about her though. He figured she was still very tired and he didn't think trying to shower with her face was going to be too easy. So the entire time she showered he sat waiting patiently for her on his bed. He told her repeatedly to call for him if she needed him.

Michelle thought it was adorable how protective he was being over her. She was tempted to just ask him to join her but she felt too nervous. It was difficult trying to shower, the pressure of the water hitting her face hurt like hell and she spent most of the time trying to keep her head out of the water. By the time she was done she was in an extreme amount of pain. She pulled her clothes on and walked out to Tony. "I did it, can I have some tablets though? That didn't feel so good."

"Already got them ready, I figured as much." He handed her the tablets and a glass of water. "Are you sure you are up to going out honey?"

"I need to." Tony was staring at her and because of the bruise it made her feel awkward. "Don't look at me like that Tony."

"Why not? I can't help it."

"Are you kidding me? I look hideous. I'm really embarrassed to have to go out like this Tony."

He gently traced one hand down the good side of her face. "Sweetheart, you shouldn't even worry about it. Trust me, it will be ok. But the second I see you looking tired we are heading home. You are supposed to be taking it easy."

She saluted him. "Yes sir!"

* * *

Michelle made Tony go straight to the shop where the watch he wanted was. Jess thought it totally strange of all the things they were doing today, they were going to buy Tony a watch but she was just so grateful to be hanging out with them she went along with a smile. She watched as Tony barely took his hands off Michelle. Whilst they drove, he held her hand and as they walked into the shop he had his arm around her. It made her hate Sam even more – he was never like that with her. Seeing how her brother treated the woman he loved started to set a new standard for what she would be looking for in the next boyfriend.

Tony walked straight to the watch making Michelle laugh, "Clearly you have been in here before looking at it."

"Only about 10 times!"

Jess looked at the price tag, it was over $5000. "Holy shit, are you kidding me Tony! You are going to spend that much on a watch? Jeez maybe I should become a super cop like you guys."

Tony was giddy. "I'm not buying it." He put his arm around Michelle. "Chelle is getting it for me?"

"WHAT?" She stood stunned looking at them both.

Michelle traced her hand over Tony's. "Let's just say I got a pretty good inheritance from Dad. I'd have never gotten through the last year without your brother, for so many reasons and I know how much he loves this watch."

Jess playfully poked Tony in the stomach, "I'm thinking you'd better be on your best behaviour for like the next...year!"

The salesman came over and Tony asked to try the watch on. They had to get a couple links taken out to fit him. When the salesman went to put it in the box Tony stopped him and told him he wanted to wear it now.

As Tony slipped it on and did it up, Michelle watched his face light up. That was what she had been looking for...that smile. She silently thanked her Dad and then paid for the watch.

Tony hugged her tightly and kissed her passionately. "Thank you, I'll never be able to thank you enough for this. I love it so much."

"That smile Tony...that's what I wanted to see. It looks hot on you, good choice."

He kissed her again as they left the store. Tony almost walked into the door he was too busy staring down at his arm. Michelle pulled his hand and steered him away from the door. "Eye's up honey...don't want you to end up looking like me!"

"I can't help it" he moaned, "it's...this...it's incredible, I still can't believe it!"

"No where?" Jess asked.

Tony gave Michelle a look as if to ask 'are you sure?', she smiled and nodded.

He turned to Jess. "Michelle has a surprise for you as well. Follow us."

"What is it? Where are we going?"

They laughed at her impatience. "You will see in about 5 minutes."

They led Jess to a JB (TV shop). As they entered Jess looked at them both totally confused. "What are we doing here?"

Michelle grabbed her hand. "Your TV got broken yesterday so I want to get you a new one."

Jess laughed. "No way am I letting you do that. You have done more than enough for me Michelle, seriously."

"I want to Jess, besides you were really good to me last night through all the drama..."

"Umm yeah drama cause you knocked out by my asshole boyfriend!"

"You need a new TV correct?"

"Well yeah, I hadn't even thought of that..."

"Girl, you can't be missing Friends, Greys..."

Tony butted in, "You know, all the CRAPPY TV I have a feeling I am going to get subjected to from now on."

Jess looked at Tony. "You are going to let Michelle do this?"

Tony stepped in closer, "Yes. Michelle really wants to do this."

"But Michelle you should be using that money from your Dad on you...like take a holiday – God knows you need one. Not on a TV for me."

"Trust me, there will be plenty left over for all that."

Michelle looked at Tony pleadingly. Tony put his arm around Jess. "Ok so this is how it goes...I'm the big brother and I'm laying down the law. You are going to accept the TV no more buts..."

"But..."

He put his hand to her mouth. "Zip it!"

Jess shook her head and laughed. "Ok then, Michelle you are amazing, thank you. Which one?"

Michelle grinned, "That's the easiest part."

She walked up to a salesman and asked him to show her the biggest and best quality TV they had. He led them over to a 75inch LCD flat screen. All 3 of them said 'shit' at the same time.

Jess was laughing, "I thought you meant like a normal TV. I only had a 30inch tube piece of crap before you know."

Tony was studying every bit of it. "This is one fuck off big TV. It's awesome."

Michelle turned to Jess. "Do you like it?"

"Are you kidding me, if I had that thing, I'll quit work just so I can stay at home all day and watch it."

Michelle watched as Tony continued to inspect it and smiled. She turned to the salesman. "We will take 2 of them with Blue Ray players please." The guy looked at her in complete shock and then grinned as he thought about his commission. "Sure thing, come to the counter."

Tony took Michelle's hand. "2 of them?"

"Well, sorry to say baby but your TV kinda sucks as well."

"For me? Why are you not getting one?"

"It won't fit in my apartment."

Tony took her to the side for privacy. "You mean to say you don't even live in a place with a big enough wall for that and you are buying all this stuff for us?"

"I told you. I've never touched the money before. I don't like living alone really so I just live in an apartment complex, it's pretty small."

He put his arm around her. "You don't like living on your own?"

She looked a little shy. "Nah not really. I mean I'm fine. I use to live with a friend but she got married so I just found something small and comfy"

"I have a solution to that..."

"What do you mean?"

"That's for later but for now, don't you want to even just pick out a smaller one?"

Michelle agreed so they called the salesman back. By the time they had left the store Michelle had bought Jess the big TV and a new smaller sized one for her bedroom, one for herself and Tony 3. The big one for his living room, one for his bedroom and one for the kitchen area. Tony's were going to be delivered in a couple hours and the Jess and Michelle's would be delivered in a couple days when Jess was ready to go home. Jess and Tony were in complete and utter shock but so excited they could barely contain themselves and Michelle was happy. Just so happy that she had finally spent some money and had been able to do it for 2 people she really cared about. Seeing them so happy was the best feeling in the world. Tony suggested they rent a DVD to test out the TV that night. After a million hugs from Jess, Tony managed to smoothly peel her away from Michelle so he could go back to walking with his arm around her.

"I'm taking us to lunch girls, let's go pig out somewhere!"

Tony took them to one of his favourite restaurants. They had a great time over lunch, laughing and getting to know each other better. Tony couldn't remember the last time he had gone out to lunch with his sister like this, usually they just caught up at family dinners but this was really nice. He absolutely loved finally having time with Michelle outside of the office where he got to see her more relaxed and joking around. She had a very cheeky side which he had always noticed but it was even more obvious outside of work. He loved watching her laugh. He hoped that this was helping to keep her mind off her Dad. She hadn't mentioned anything about it and he wondered if he should ask how she was doing or just let it be for now.

By the time they were finishing their main meal Tony could see Michelle becoming pale and very tired looking. He has seen her take a couple tablets when they sat down but now she was reaching for more. "Honey, you just had some just over an hour ago."

"But they didn't do anything."

"It's dangerous to have more so soon after the last ones. I think we need to head home now. I can see you are getting tired, you need to rest."

He was surprised when she didn't protest at all and actually agreed with him. She must really be feeling crappy. He paid the bill and then had her and Jess wait out the front whilst he went and pulled the car around.

As the 2 girls waited for Tony, Jess held Michelle by the elbow for a little support. She thanked her again for the TV's. "Chelle, I've never ever seen my brother this happy and it is all because of you. I have just had so much fun hanging out with you guys, Tony and I never do that, even though we are so close, and it was so nice. No one else he has ever dated has ever given a shit about his little sister."

"Thanks Jess. I really love hanging out with you. Feels like we have already been through more than most people do in a year! As for Tony's ex's...what a bunch of bitches..." She said it jokingly and Jess added, "Yeah they were, fat and ugly too. If my brother doesn't marry you, he is the dumbest guy on the planet!"

Michelle blushed but was saved from having to come up with a response because Tony pulled up.

* * *

Tony got Michelle settled on the couch with a blanket. When he leaned down to kiss her she spoke quietly. "At 3pm I really want to be at Dad's grave, like at actually 3 I need to be there. Would you mind taking me?"

"Of course baby. Do you mind if I ask why 3 exactly?"

"Because it was at 3:05pm that he turned to me on that day and said he just had to go and grab with wallet. The last thing he said to me was "I'll be right back 'sweetheart." So I want to be there at that time so right on 3:05 I can you know...like...talk to him I guess."

"I promise to have you there by 2:50 – just to be on the safe side. That means we need to leave in 40 minutes. Why don't you try and shut your eyes till then and get some rest."

"Ok." He went to tuck her in a bit. "Tony, why haven't you asked me how much money Dad gave me?"

He sat next to her on the couch and leaned over her. "Because it's none of my business. I don't ever want you to think I care about that kind of thing with you. I like the idea of being able to look after you; it makes no difference to me to me if you have $5 or a million dollars. I'll still want to take you dinners and all that...I'd never expect a cent from you baby – you really have to hear that and believe that. What you did today was incredible and so generous but it was your reason behind wanting to do it that made it feel so special. When you called me honourable, like your Dad, well I think that was so most special thing someone has ever said to me."

"Thanks Tony. But it would be fun if we did some really amazing things together with it. I have over 15 million. It's just sitting there. If you do know anything about money, maybe you could help me figure out what I should be doing with it – like investments or something?"

"Wow! Yep, I know all about that stuff. I have money in bonds and investments. We can sit down one of these days and I'll show you what I do and why and we can figure out a good plan for you."

"Thanks...and Tony, you really are the most honourable person I know."

He kissed her and stroked her hair for a few minutes until she looked like she was asleep.

He went and found Jess in the spare room. "Hey I am going to take Chelle to the cemetery in about 40 minutes. Do you think you will be ok here?"

"Sure. I need to let the delivery guys in anyways, they will be here between 3 and 4."

"Shit, I forgot about that. You going to be ok dealing with that?"

"Yes totally. Maybe it will all be set up for when you guys get back!"

Tony then told Jess he was going to make a mad dash to the flower shop while Chelle slept to get some flowers for Michelle to put on her Dad's grave.

* * *

Michelle woke to Tony gently kissing her on the neck and telling her it was time to go. He helped her up and they said goodbye to Jess and went to the car. When Chelle got in she saw a huge bunch of flowers on the back seat. Tony smiled at her. "I thought maybe you might want to take some for your Dad."

She ran around to his side of the car and hugged him. "You are the best."

Michelle directed Tony where to go and as they were pulling in he asked her if she wanted him to wait in the car. "Maybe just give me 10 minutes and then join me?"

Michelle sat next to her Dad's grave and laid the flowers down. At 3:05 she started talking to him. She told him all about Tony and told him how sorry she was that she hadn't come earlier with his friends. She told him that she had finally spent some of the money and then went back to telling him about what she and Tony had been through over the past few days. As she did, all the images from the day at CTU rushed through her mind along with the memories of the bomb that took her Dad. She started to cry and before she knew it she was sobbing uncontrollably. Her body was shaking and her eye hurt like hell. Within moments she felt Tony's arms wrap around her and pull her into an embrace. He didn't say anything; he just let her cry into his arms whilst he held her.

"Tighter."

He pulled her in closer.

"Tighter."

He sat on the ground and pulled her into his lap and encased her body with his. He silently promised her Dad he would take care of her and do everything he could to make sure she was happy. They sat like that for close to an hour before she told him she was ready to go. He helped her up, listened to her tell her Dad how much she loved him and missed him and then he took her home.

**Please if you are reading this story take a minute to review and let me know what you think. I am not sure if I should keep posting this story or not. Thanks for taking the time to read!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Bad language and sexual content. Thanks for reading. I dont own 24 etc...**

On the way back he asked her if she would stay with him for the next few nights. He didn't want to be apart from her for even a minute. She seemed really excited by the idea. They stopped off at her apartment so she could pick up some things. Whilst she was there she called Danny. She had tried calling him in the morning but hadn't answered. Then he had left a message on her machine saying he was ok and spending the day with Nick. As they spoke he asked her a million questions about what was going on but she told him she wasn't up for going into it all now. That she was fine and staying with Tony for a couple days.

Afterwards Tony helped her pack up some clothes. She pulled out her panties and threw them on top of the pile. She caught Tony staring at them and it made her giggle.

"What are you laughing at?"

"You are so busted Almeida, checking out my underwear!"

"Can you blame me?"

She laughed and he edged himself a little closer to her. "Makes me think about when you flashed me yesterday."

She went red. "I can't believe I did that!"

"Neither can I...but fuck, that was so hot. You have no idea how hard it was for me to refrain myself."

"Aaahh...don't think I didn't notice you copping a feel when you pulled them back up..."

Now it was his turn to go completely red. This was all so new to them, talking to each other like this. Tony still couldn't believe he had Michelle Dessler in his life like this now. He grabbed her hand and pulled her in closer to him. "Trust me...that was me behaving myself with you. Besides you were so pissed with me, I don't think that was quite the time to be making a move."

She giggled. "True."

He leaned into her and quietly whispered into her ear before kissing it, "but you're not angry with me now, right?"

She titled her head to the side to allow him to keep kissing around her neck. "Nah, you've managed to get yourself back into my good books."

She was so nervous. This was the first time really that they had been alone since they had gotten together. Last night didn't count seeing as she was off her head when they had retired to his room for the night. She loved the feel of his stubble scratching against her neck. She allowed him to continue for a minute before she pulled back a little and looked into his eyes. She felt her stomach do flips as he gently pressed his lips against hers. His hand cupped the good side of her face and his other hand trace across her stomach. It took her a moment to respond but her hands soon found their way to his chest. He deepened the kiss and immediately everything became extremely passionate.

He wasted no time, slipping his hands around to her back and unclipping her bra and then running them back around across her breasts. She gasped and stopped the kiss.

He's lips were still touching hers, "Are you ok baby." He was breathing so heavily that his words were a little broken. His eyes were scanning hers but he didn't loosen his grip on her.

"I just can't believe this is happening." Her hands were now running up and down his chest.

"I can't believe it either. My heart is racing."

They continued to stare at one another, he slowly started to circle her nipple with his finger. Not only did he love how good it felt but watching the reaction to his touch on her face was almost better. He could tell she was shy so he wanted to try and take it slow but it was almost impossible to not just rip all her clothes off. He started walking her backwards so that she was standing up against the wall.

Tony's hands felt so good and she loved that he was taking control because she almost felt too nervous to know what to do. He started kissing her again, but this time it was passionate from the start. He was pushing his body into hers as close as he could. When she felt him grab at her breasts with more force and let out a husky groan it gave her the courage to yanks at his top to pull it off. He slipped it over his head as fast as he could, not wanting to miss a second of being able to touch her.

As he leant back in and began to kiss her again she ran her hands up and down his back, across his chest and through his hair. He barely broke the kiss to mumble to her, "Can yours come off too?"

She nodded as she helped him remove her top and bra. He stepped back a couple inches to take her all in. Yes, he had seen her last night, but this was so different. It felt like the first time for him. He lowered his body and began to kiss her breasts. She groaned, "Oh my God baby, that feels so good."

He hesitated; he had never heard her talk like that before. Her tone, everything about the way she said those words to him was different then her usual voice. He almost lost it right there and then. She felt him hesitate and lifted his head with her hands. "What's wrong?"

He laughed and began nibbling on her ear. "Say that again."

She wasn't quite sure she was following, "What?" but then he grabbed her breast in one hand forcefully, pushed his hard body into hers and sucked on her neck. She couldn't help it."Oh Shit Tony...you...oh my God!"

He gave a cheeky chuckle. "That!"

His phone rang, he just let it ring out as he continued to kiss her. Her hands had made their way to the top of his jeans and he wasn't about to let anything stop this moment. His phone out again. And then hers. As his started again, Michelle pulled back, "Must be important."

He sighed. "It better be."

He snapped his phone open, "WHAT?"

Michelle laughed at his frustration and continued to trail her fingers across the top of his pants. It was clear how turned on he was and he was slowly pushing himself into her.

It was Jess on the phone. Apparently Sam had been calling her phone non-stop. She hadn't answered it but she had listened to all the messages he was leaving and he was threatening her. Clearly furious the police were now on the hunt for him he had completely lost it. The messages alluded to him knowing she was staying with her brother and he was going to come and 'teach her a lesson'. She was crying that she didn't know what to do. Tony told her to make sure everything was locked up and that they would be there in a few minutes.

Michelle had already gathered something was wrong and had begun to put her bra and top back on. Tony winced at the sight of her covering herself up again. He explained what was happening and they grabbed what Michelle had already packed and fast tracked it all the way back to Tony's.

"Shouldn't we call the police Tony?"

"We will be there in a minute. I'll call them once we are there. I doubt this guy will have the balls to actually come to my apartment but the police need to make a report of the messages he is leaving her. I think we are going to have to get a restraining order."

"I agree. I'll call and organize one once we get there."

Tony grabbed her hand. "I'm so sorry we got interrupted..."

"Don't be sorry Tony, it's your sister."

"I know. I just need time with you. We still haven't even had a chance to talk to about last night or anything."

She tightened her grip on his hand. "We will. Don't worry. Let's just make sure Jess is ok first."

Jess was understandably in tears when they arrived. Tony hugged her for a moment before asking to listen to the messages. Michelle took over holding Jess and telling her that she was safe and everything would be alright.

"Were you guys still at the cemetery?"

"No, we were just picking up some clothes from my place."

"I'm sorry Chelle, you have so much going on, the last thing you need is my shit."

Michelle pulled her in closer. "Your shit, is my shit Jess. We are all helping each other out at the moment right?"

After Tony listened to the messages he called the police and Michelle phoned the office to fast track the process for a restraining order.

A few minutes later someone started pounding on the door. Tony looked through the peep hole and saw it was Sam. He told Jess and Michelle to go into his bedroom and lock the door.

Jess started to head there but Michelle stopped. "Tony, I can help you, I am trained for all this you know."

"I know honey but I'm not taking another chance on this guy laying a finger on you again. Please just go and stay with Jess."

Michelle did as he asked but felt sick about it. What if Sam had a weapon? The thought of anything happening to Tony made her ill to her stomach. As she tried to keep Jess calm in his bedroom she could hear Tony and Sam yelling through the door. He was kicking and pounding on it so hard Michelle figured it was only a matter of time before he broke the door down.

Tony was panicked. He knew he could handle Sam, he had been in a hell of a lot more dangerous situations then this before but it felt completely different when it was Michelle and his sister he was trying to protect.

Luckily the police arrived and soon Tony could hear them wrestling Sam to the ground and an officer telling him that it was ok, he could open up. He opened the door to see Sam handcuffed against the wall and then the police officers stepped inside. He didn't want Jess to see Sam at all so he asked the officers to have Sam taken downstairs to the car before he had Michelle and Jess come out of the room.

Jess had to fill out another report with Tony and Michelle and the police took her phone for evidence. The officers assured Jess that Sam would be locked up until a hearing in a few days. The relief on her face was obvious straight away. She hugged Tony and thanked him.

Tony saw the officers out and then turned back to Jess. "Sorry sis, I shouldn't have left you."

As soon as he said it he felt guilty because taking Michelle to the cemetery was so important as well. He saw Michelle's face drop and he quickly back tracked. "I should have taken you to mum and dad's whilst we were out."

They sat around talking and explained to Jess what was most likely to happen with Sam. The truth was, he would most likely be free again pretty soon and Jess was going to have to find a way of protecting herself. She mentioned maybe looking for a new apartment so he wouldn't know where she lived. They tossed around a few ideas.

Finally they walked into the living room where they saw the new TV all set up. "Shit, it's beautiful." He put his arm around Michelle. "Thank you baby, I love it, I really love it."

She smiled. "So are we going to test it out with a movie?"

"Damn straight we are...I'll even let you girls pick some chick flick!"

He ordered them some dinner in, Michelle offered to pay but he refused. She tried again. "Chelle, I want to pay. You have to let me do things like this or it is really going to stress me out."

She backed off straight away. "Ok honey." She knew that Tony was the type of guy that wanted to look after his girlfriend and she never wanted her wealth to be an issue with them."

After they had eaten Tony told them he was just going to call work. He was going to request that both he and Michelle have a couple days to recover but Chapelle was in a foul mood. He told Tony they needed to at least come in and do their debriefs the next day. Tony explained what had happened to Michelle but Chapelle wasn't having any of it. He told Tony that he wanted them both in by 9am. They could then take the next couple days off.

As soon as he was off the phone with Chapelle he called his parents are organised to drop Jess of on their way out so she could spend the day with them.

When he explained to the girls the plan he could see Michelle become distressed. He took her in his arms. "It's just the debriefs honey, then we can have some time off."

"I know, I just don't want to have to deal with all that. I'm not ready to have to think about that day again."

"I know baby, neither am I." He kept her in his arms for a couple of minutes before she pulled back and suggested they start the movie because it was getting late.

After the movie they all got ready for bed. Michelle pulled on one of his Cubs t-shirts to wear. She had been quiet ever since he had told her they had to do their debriefs tomorrow. She took tablets for the pain and crawled into bed.

"How is your eye feeling?"

"Pretty sore. But I'll be fine."

As much as he wanted to fool around, it was really late and they had to be up in a few hours. He also didn't think that Michelle was in the right frame of mind, not to mention she was in pain. So he pulled her body in close. She wrapped her arms around him and they gently kissed for a little while before he told her she should get some sleep.

Michelle knew she wasn't going to be able to sleep. There was far too much on her mind and when she closed her eyes all she pictured was that day's events. Tony looked beat and she didn't want to bother him, especially when she didn't even know what she wanted to say. He stroked her hair until he fell asleep. She watched him for awhile thinking about how lucky she was to have him. She tried to sleep but every time she closed her eyes she felt worse. She wished she could have another one of those valium injections.

She slid out of the bed without disturbing him and made her way into the living room. She silently cried as she sat on the sofa thinking about the next day. At 4 in the morning, Jess came out to get a drink from the kitchen. She saw Michelle curled up on the couch in tears. She approached her slowly.

"Chelle?"

Michelle immediately sat up straight and tried to wipe her tears. "Hey Jess."

"Do you want me to go get Tony?"

"No it's ok, he is asleep and I don't want to wake him."

"You worried about tomorrow?"

"Yeah."

"Look Chelle. I'm not even going to pretend like I have any understanding of how what you guys must be going through. But is there anything I can do? Do you want to talk?"

"I'm ok thanks Jess. Think I just need some time to think really."

"Want me to sit with you?"

"Thanks Jess but its ok, you go back to bed. I'll try and sleep soon."

Michelle had to reassure Jess a couple times she was ok before she finally went back to bed. Michelle continued to sit there and try and digest everything that had happened the last few days.

When Ton's alarm went off in the morning he was surprised to see Michelle wasn't lying next to him. He stumbled out to the living room where he found her sitting staring out the window. He put his arms around her and kissed her on the neck. "Beat me up huh?"

She gave him a small smile. "Something like that."

A minute later Jess appeared. She couldn't believe Michelle was still sitting there. "Chelle didn't you go to sleep?"

Tony looked at them both confused. "What do you mean?"

Michelle shook her head. "It's nothing."

Tony gave Jess a look like she had better tell him straight away what the hell she was talking about. "I found Chelle out here at like 4 this morning..."

Tony turned straight back to Michelle. "Have you slept at all?"

She shook her head.

"Why didn't you wake me? You just sat out here all alone all night?"

"It's not a big deal Tony. I was just thinking."

"It's a huge deal baby. I feel like a right ass knowing I was sound asleep and you have been out here by yourself all night." He looked at her eyes. "And you have been crying."

Michelle stood up. "There was nothing you could do Tony. I can't expect you to be up all night just because I can't sleep."

"Yes you can! That's what I'm here for. You must be exhausted. Come here." He turned her body into his and studied her. Her good eye was red and puffy from tears and her bad eye was still so swollen it was barely open and completely black and blue. He felt so guilty. How could he have slept straight through like that not knowing she had gotten up? How was she ever going to cope with today after no sleep? "How is your eye? Have you taken your tablets?"

"Yep, I just took some about half an hour ago so they will kick in pretty soon."

They had to scramble to get ready. Neither one of them said much as they were too busy thinking. Tony was completely stressed about Michelle and worried what this debrief was going to do to her. He kept a close eye on her as she got ready and she was really quiet.

They had dropped Jess off at his parents and made their way to work. They held hands as they drove but they were both still quiet. It didn't feel awkward, they both knew how heavily the debrief was weighing on their minds and they needed time to gather their own thoughts.

They kissed quickly before hopping out of the car, Tony was about to take her hand when they heard a couple colleagues walk up behind them. They spun around and said good morning and before Tony knew it they were all walking into the office together and he knew he just blown his chance at telling her the million things he wanted to, the most important being how much he loved her.

Michelle got stuck in the corridor with a Jo and Amy who were shocked as hell at the sight of her eye and wanted to know what had happened. She didn't feel comfortable telling them what had happened with Jess and Sam. Although Jo and Amy were good friends that she trusted, Tony was their boss and it didn't feel appropriate to be telling about what was happening in his family's personal life. She had already discussed with Tony that she would tell people that she had interrupted an intruder in her apartment when she got home. She did tell Amy and Jo that she had gotten together with Tony but pleaded with them to not tell a soul. They wanted to keep people knowing about their personal life to a minimum but Amy and Jo were close enough friends that it would feel wrong not to tell them. They were so excited for Michelle. Of course they wanted all the goss on Tony. Michelle let them know that kissing him was better than she had ever imagined but that was it.

Out the corner of her eye she saw Ryan Chapelle lead Tony into one of the conference rooms and he looked pissed. She chatted to the girls some more before heading over to her desk. She had a few things she wanted to do before the debrief and she hoped that she would get to wish Tony good luck with his before he went in.

Tony was copping it from Chapelle big time for his relationship with Michelle. Carrie had told that she has seen them kissing of course and then Tony had basically confirmed it on the phone to Chapelle when they had discussed their briefs and Tony had told him what had happened to her.

At first he thought Chapelle was going to try and say that relationships were banned and he wouldn't stand for it but he quickly realised that officially Chapelle couldn't do that so he was going to do and say everything in his power to pursway Tony to end it. Of course Nina was bought up and the whole mess with Jack and him both having had dated her.

After a few minutes of ranting and raving without a single response from Tony, Chapelle finally calmed down and took a more gentle, sensitive tone, "Are you really going to put yourself in this position again Tony?"

"To say that, suggests you think that Michelle is like Nina and we both now damn well she is not."

"I am not saying that at all Tony. But you know how quickly things in this line of work can change lives, Michelle doesn't have to be a mole for this to have million ways of ending in a really horrible way."

"With all due respect sir, so does every relationship in life. I'm not going to stay single for the rest of my life because of my job."

"I'm not saying that you have to, but wouldn't it be a lot easier to date someone who wasn't in the same line of work as you?"

"I can't help who I fall in love with!"

Chapelle looked shocked, he paused for a moment and sat on the edge of the table. "Love? You are telling me you love Michelle? How long has this been going on?"

"Ryan, there has been something between Michelle and I since the day she started here. She has come the person I trust and count on the most. It has only been the last few days that we have actually begun a relationship but it has been over a year of me having such strong feelings for her."

Chapelle tried a different approach. "Tony, you know I was there when everything went down with Nina. I watched you fall into a very dark place. Everything was a thousand times more complicated because you guys all worked together. What happened destroyed Jack, it destroyed you and so many of us here in the office..."

"I wasn't in love with Nina, Ryan. Yes, we were dating but it was nothing like what I have with Michelle. I was so destroyed because of the depth of betrayal of what Nina did. It wasn't exactly easy to get my head around the fact that I had been involved with someone capable of doing the things she did."

Although Tony was frustrated, he could appreciate that Chapelle was giving him a hard time because he actually cared and didn't want to see him or Michelle get hurt. He wished he could blurt out everything he felt for Michelle but he wouldn't do that, not with Ryan, not with anyone from work. What he had with Micelle was so much deeper and special then he would ever be able to explain to Chapelle.

"Tony I'm not one for office gossip but David hasn't exactly made it a secret that he has dated Michelle off and on as well..."

"That's not true, he has been lying. Michelle has never been out with him."

"Fine, I'm not interested in getting into all that but how are you can to handle things Tony if Michelle ends things? Decides she doesn't feel the same way back? You have both just gotten together after experiencing quite possibly one of the most distressing, emotional days of your lives. Isn't there the possibility you are leaning on each other to try and cope with what you have been through?"

This actually made Tony stop and think. He knew without a doubt that wasn't the case for him and his feelings for Michelle but he didn't know if that could be a possibility with Michelle. His mind started to race to the fact that it was when she fell apart and he found her and comforted her that she kissed him. What if he hadn't followed her? What if someone else had? He couldn't handle this right now, he could already feel logic going out the window and his insecurities creeping in and starting to take over. He didn't think he could hear another word of Ryan talking like this.

"Ryan, I appreciate you are looking out for us, I do. But I have got my debrief to get through and to be honest that's more than enough for me to try and concentrate on at the moment. I can assure you Michelle and I will keep our relationship out of the office and I will give everything you have said some serious thought. Can we please leave it at this for now though? I need to be able to get my head clear for the debrief?"

Ryan thought for a moment and then nodded his head. "Fair enough, I am sorry this wasn't the right time for me to bring this up with you. I'll send Ron in now so you can get on with it."

"Can I have a quick word with Michelle first?"

Ryan was already opening the door for them, "Ok, but make it quick, Andrew is waiting for Michelle in holding 2."

"Thanks."

As Tony rounded the corridor he saw Jackson hugging Michelle and as he pulled out of the hug he very affectionately ran his hand down her arm. She seemed oblivious to it and sat back down in her chair. As Tony approached them he started seething as he saw Jackson place his hand on top of Michelle's on the desk. He could feel himself losing it.

Michelle looked up to see Tony, she was glad he had finally come out of his meeting – she had been having Andrew wait for her because she needed to see Tony before she went in. Jackson turned around to Tony and got up to walk away. He smiled, not in a smirkey way but in a friendly way and as he walked off said, "Morning Tony, I'll let you guys do your debriefs and I'll catch up with you later."

Tony was trying so hard to remain calm but he couldn't. He had Chapelle's words running through his head, he had all the things David had said he had done with Michelle running through his head, he had the debrief and now he had the image of Jackson touching her like that. His voice was quiet. "What the hell was that all about?"

Michelle was completely taken back by Tony's words and tone. "What?"

"What do you mean, What? That! Jackson, all over you!"

Michelle shook her head in disbelief. "He wasn't all over me. He hugged me...trying to be nice, after he heard what had happened..."

"A hug and his hand running down your arm, then he had his fucking hand on yours."

Michelle looked around to make sure no one was within ear shot then leaned in a little closer to Tony, "Jackson is gay Tony. Gay, everyone knows that. He wasn't making a fucking move on me, he was being nice."

Tony was stopped in his tracks, he had no idea. "He is not gay?"

"Yes he is. Openly gay...if you don't believe me, why don't you ask him yourself."

He could see the disappointment in her eyes at how he had just acted. He was so relieved though. "Sorry, I just had Ryan all over me about our relationship and he was making me think, freaking me out and then I walked out and saw Jackson doing that and I all I could think about was all the disgusting things David told me he had done with you and I was seeing that and..."

She cut him off, "Wait a minute. Slow down. What was Ryan saying to freak you and what other things did David say? I thought we had been through all of that?"

Tony was literally shaking he was so wound up. "That maybe we were just leaning on each other because of what happened the other day, that maybe we you...or I...or both of us...I don't know...don't really love each other we just think we do because we are so emotional over what happened. He couldn't believe after Nina..."

"You guys compared me with Nina? Are you shitting me?"

"Its not like that, it's just he was trying to say that look how office relationships are so much more complicated and what would I do when things end..." He knew he was barely making sense. His mouth was moving faster than his brain."

"I don't understand what the hell you are talking about. You are already talking about how you are going to handle things when we are over? And why was David bought up? "Are you...is this all about...are you having 2nd thoughts about us Tony?"

"That is the last thing in this world I am thinking. I love you more than anything in this world. Shit Michelle, nothing is coming out right. I'm so confused. Chapelle said he had also heard you were dating David and..."

Michelle stood up and motioned for Tony to follow her into one of the empty offices. She closed the door behind them. "This is really starting to make me sick. Even Chapelle is fucking talking about my sex life now? What else did David say?"

"Chelle...sweetheart..."

"Tell me now Tony or I swear I am walking out that door."

"You promised you wouldn't do that Chelle."

"If I don't start getting some answers Tony then I'll break my promise. Believe me, I'm not going to be hanging around here while you decide with Chapelle if we should be dating or not, what I have supposedly done with David and being compared with Nina..."

"Chelle I don't believe it anyways, you know I believe you were not with David."

"Clearly you are not 100% convinced or you wouldn't have just acted that way. What did he say?"

"He told James how good you tasted. He didn't say it to me, I just heard but..."

"Tasted?"

Tony's sunk his head but slightly lifted his eyes to her's. "Yes."

"What do you mean by that?"

Tony couldn't read Michelle's face at all. He had no idea what she was thinking although he was pretty sure she was hating him right now. His voice had become weak and shaky. "You want me to explain what that means?"

She kept staring at him. She didn't say a word, he didn't understand why he had to say this out loud. "He meant that when he went down on you, that you tasted so good."

Michelle looked humiliated, horrified and on the verge of tears. There was a knock on the door and then Andrew poked his head in. "Michelle we have to get started. We were supposed to have begun half an hour ago. Chapelle is pissed."

Tony told them they would be out in 1 minute. Andrew sighed and closed the door. Tony turned back to Michelle. Michelle was just stuck there unable to find words. She had never been more confused in her life. She didn't know which point to be addressing, how to even address any of them. Tony looked like an absolute broken mess.

"Say something Chelle."

She wanted to burst into tears. She wanted to understand what was happening.

She heard him beg again. "Please, I'm so scared, say something...anything..."

She took a step to start leaving. "No one knows that Tony."

"Know's what?"

She took a deep breath, "No one could possibly know what I taste like because I have never...ummm...nobody has ever done that to me."

Tony was stunned but made sure that she wouldn't be able to see that. "I believed you sweetheart the night we 1st talked about it. I was and still am angry that he has been lying like this, and Ryan just said he thought you and David were dating and I wanted to set the record straight with him..."

He was going to continue but the door opened again and this time it was Chapelle. He looked at the state of them both a knew they were not in good shape. He would have sent them home however he had to have their debriefs to Division. "Michelle, Tony...I really need these debriefs done now." He kept the door open for both of them to walk out and watched as they were led by Ron and Andrew to separate rooms.

He wasn't overly surprised by the state of Tony and Michelle. Just about every single staff member who had worked that day was in bad shape one way or another. So far he had over 50% of his staff on leave for a week or more to recoup. They were mainly the ones that had been there when the bomb had gone off and had worked for well over 24 hours straight. Those that come in as replacements for the people they had lost seemed to be holding up ok so far. The entire agency was a mess with agents from all around the country being flown in and shifted around to help accomadate CTU and its staff recover from the bomb. Michelle and Tony had been at the heart of the situation all day. No one in the office had come close to experiencing what they and Jack had through the day. He had basically made up his mind that he would be giving them some time off after this, he just needed to wait and see what Ron and Andrew reported back to him.

Considering the state Michelle went into the debrief she wasn't sure how she had managed to get through it. She almost felt numb to everything but Tony at the moment. Andrew had gone easy on her and had many times sat patiently in silence as she tried to recall the order of events that occurred and how they had all played out. She cried a few times but most of the time she was on autopilot just to get through.

After they had finished she was told to hang around for a few minutes whilst he spoke with Ryan. She set off to find Tony.

She bumped into Amy as she headed down the hall. "Oh Chelle, how are you?"

"Ok, just glad that is over with. I'm ready to go home!"

Amy looked uncomfortable. "You haven't heard?"

"Heard what?"

"Tony is being held in holding room 4, he and David got into a fight in the kitchen."

"Oh My God, is Tony ok?"

"Yes, looks like he had a black eye, not quite as bad as yours, but other than that I don't think he was hurt."

Michelle mumbled thanks as she ran to holding room 4. Chapelle was in the hallway and he let her go straight in. She walked in to see Tony slumped in the chair with his head down. He slightly raised his eyes to see who it was and when he saw it was Michelle he stood up. "Chelle..."

"What have you done Tony, what is going on?"

Tony looked completely ashamed. "I'm being suspended for 10 days because I got into a fight with David."

"What happened?"

"I went into the kitchen after I finished my debrief to get a coffee while I waited for you. David came in and straight away made a comment that he had heard we had gotten together. I told him that was right and that I was really pissed off with him for lying about being with you and the disgusting ways he had said things. He came over and stood right in my face and started saying all this shit..."

"What shit Tony, please just tell me what he said."

"He said 'what? You don't like hearing about someone fucking your new girlfriend...if you really listened you could have picked up some tips from me.' I just lost it Chelle, I punched him and he punched me back. We ended up wrestling on the floor by the time security broke us up." Tony half shrugged his shoulders, "I don't care that I have been suspended - you don't deserve for someone to talk about you like that BUT I am sorry for disappointing you with my behaviour and the way I handled it."

Tony wouldn't have blamed her if she just turned around and walked away. He was completely shocked when she sat down. "I am so sorry he said that to you and that you are now in trouble for sticking up for me. Thank you for putting an end to David speaking about me like that, no one has ever done anything like that for me before and I'm sorry he said that to you...are you hurt?"

He smiled, "Thank you. I'll be fine, just a black eye..."

"Yeah but not nearly as good as mine!"

Tony bit his bottom lip, "I can't believe how good you are being to me about this, and I thought you were going to be so angry with me."

"Tony after what he has been saying to you and everyone, I would have hit him myself if I saw him first and I completely understand how hurtful it would be to you. I wouldn't stand for anyone saying stuff like that about you."

Tony felt like he could breathe again. "I am a jealous person Chelle, hearing David talk about you...my sweetheart, my baby...like that made me so furious I couldn't even think straight. I don't want anyone else, I don't care who it is, thinking about you in that way, touching you or talking about you like that. I know you are extremely angry, hurt and confused by what I was saying before the debriefs and I hope to god you will hear me out because I want to be the only one that gets to hold you..."

He was interrupted by Ryan coming into the room. He looked at them both and then sat down next to Michelle. "Tony even though I am suspending you for 10 days over what just happened, I want you to know I am not having it written up formally in your file. I have to be seen as doing something about the matter and David has been suspended as well. After my conversation with you this morning, hearing from Ron about your debrief and now what just happened with Ron, I think you need some time out. You need to take this time to try and work through all of this." He turned and looked at Michelle. "And Michelle, I just spoke with Andrew and he doesn't believe you are fit to return to work right now either."

"Did I say something wrong?"

"It's not about that Michelle. This office...your country, will forever be in debt to you – and you Tony – for what you did on that day. However, it was very clear to Andrew that you are extremely vulnerable at the moment, exhausted and have not had a chance to digest and confront what happened. You both lost colleagues that I know were friends and were emotionally pushed and damaged over what you experienced. I want you to both leave here immediately and get some rest. Think about what has been said today and take some time to work through your feelings so that when you come back to work you can be focused."

Michelle's voice was still weak and quiet. "Thank you. And thank you for not formally writing up Tony's suspension."

"I am sorry that you have been the victim of David's behaviour. I will not tolerate any of my staff being spoken about like that and believe you me, David will be facing a lot over the next few days with this."

"He is going to be so angry with me for all the trouble he is getting in..."

Tony reached out and placed his hand over hers, "You don't need to be afraid of him Chellle."

Tony shuffled his paper work and stood up preparing to leave, "Tony is right, you don't need to worry about him. No decisions have been made and I can't promise you anything but there is a good chance David will at the very least be transferred out of this branch. Now both of you grab your stuff and make a quick exit." He held the door open for them to both walk out of the room.

Tony walked with Michelle back to her station so she could collect her bag and then they headed to the garage. That's when Michelle realized her car was still sitting there from days ago. "I need to take my car Tony."

"Do you think you should really be driving?" He needed to talk to her so badly. He felt like every minute that passed the way things had been left before their debriefs was making things worse. She was barely even looking at him. "I don't know..."

"You haven't even slept Michelle, I don't think you are safe. Are you coming back to my place?"

It seemed like his question caught her off guard. She was looking at her car and then back at Tony, almost hoping an answer would find its way out of her mouth. He placed his hand gently on her shoulder, "Please come home with me so we can talk, we can worry about your car anytime, it is safe here."

"You are supposed to be picking Jess up from your parents remember. They were going out tonight and you guys didn't want her to be alone. Maybe you should..."

He didn't let her finish. He moved his hand to her chin where he gently lifted it so she would look at him. "My parents can drop her off on their way out. I am not worried about Jess right now, I am worried about 'us'. You have to give me a chance to explain, don't put walls up with me Chelle. I promise you I'll prove to you that I can be what you need..."

"It sounded like you are not even sure if I am what you need..."

"See, right there Chelle. Couldn't be further from the truth. Come home with me!"

"Alright."

"Thank you." Tony's heart started to pound. He actually felt excited. He led her to his car, opened her door and helped her in."

He phoned his parents as soon as they were on the road. They had been anxious all day to hear how it had all gone. Tony told his mum he couldn't go into it now but if she could drop Jess off then he could fill her in a little more. His mum apologized that they couldn't cancel their plans for the evening so Jess could just stay with them and give he and Michelle some time alone. His father was a surgeon and was speaking at a huge conference that night, there was no way they could cancel. Tony told his mom they were happy to have Jess, he thought she shouldn't be alone for a couple days until the shock of what had happened had worn off and Jess felt safe. His mum said they would be dropping her off fairly shortly.

He explained the situation to Michelle, apologising that they wouldn't have complete privacy. She told him it was more than fine. Then they drove home in silence. Michelle staring out the window and Tony was just thinking everything over and over in his head trying to figure out where to start. They were barely through his front door when Michele blurted out, "I am so angry with you for even putting me in the same context as Nina in a discussion with Ryan."

He was shocked at her outburst and he felt sad when he thought about how he must have made her feel. Before he even had a chance to respond she continued. "She murdered people Tony! She killed Jack's wife! She betrayed the whole country and you...how could you and Ryan even worry that I could do the same thing!"

He could tell she was going to keep going. Her voice rising with each word. He took her purse out of her hand and dropped it on the ground. He put his hands on her waist and pushed his body in very close to hers so that she was backed up against the wall. He was breathing heavy and leaned his mouth in close to hers. "Stop...stop! I never ever for one second thought that. And neither did Ryan. Ryan was trying to make the point to me that office relationships are a bad idea. That everything becomes so much more complicated. He referred to the fact that because Jack and I had both dated Nina the impact it had on everyone was extreme."

"But..."

"Let me say this Chelle. I told him that I loved you and what I had with you was so much more special and deeper than what I had with Nina. Yes it affected my work, but not because of my feelings for her in that way but because I was so disgusted at my involvement with someone that was capable of doing what she did."

She could feel his breath on her face as it was so close to hers. He had taken one hand off her waist and placed it on her cheek. The chemistry between them was unbelievable. She was surprised at the way he was holding her, making sure he was as close to her as possible, almost commanding her to look at him and hear what he was saying. This was a side of Tony she had never seen but she so deeply loved it. It affected her in ways she didn't think possible. How could she be so angry with someone yet so incredibly turned on and desperate for his touch? "You said that he had said things and you were freaking out, that maybe what we were feeling was just because of what we had been through." She knew what she was saying was not in regard to what he had just said but things were just falling out of her mouth as they flashed through her mind. Almost like she needed to know the answer to everything all at once.

He loved that she hadn't pushed him away. She was allowing him in closer and closer. The hurt, anger, sadness and confusion was written across her face and present in her voice but she still wanted his touch, he could tell. "Ryan asked me if it was possible that we thought we were so in love because of what we had just been through and how we had leaned on each other emotionally to get through that day. I knew...I KNOW...that I am not confused about my feelings for you. I don't think what he said is true because I have felt this way about you for such a long time. But the way he said it, how he said it..." He paused, unsure of how to word what he had to say.

He felt her grab onto his chest and almost pull him in closer. Up till now his voice had been assertive, powerful and strong but now it became quieter and weaker. "I am so scared I am going to lose you. Just hearing him say that made all of my insecurities and worst fears feel like they might come true. I started to freak out that even though I was sure of what I felt, what if he was right about you?"

"You said you were confused and something about how you were going to handle it when things ended between us?" He was so aware that she wasn't giving him any answers back. He knew she had a million things on her mind she was trying to somehow make sense of and understand but he needed her answers as well. He needed her to tell him that all the things he feared were wrong, but she wasn't. Was she putting up walls? He wanted to kiss her so bad, her lips were only a few inches from his. "You need to tell me something!"

Michelle immediately thought he wanted her to tell him about what she had said in response to what David had said. She wasn't aware he needed her to tell him Chapelle was wrong. She scanned his eyes and slightly shook her head, "No, I'm not a virgin."

It only took him a second to realize what she thought he wanted her to tell him. And it was true, her comment back had made him wonder if she was. He couldn't imagine for the life of him how someone as beautiful and amazing as Michelle could still be a virgin. Men must have been falling all over her forever. Hell, she couldn't believe she wasn't already married with children. He licked his lips and whispered, "Its ok if you are you know..."

"I'm sorry. I wish there hadn't been anyone before you..."

He gasped loudly. She had just stroked his ego in a way he never could have imagined. His voice raised again, now out of passion, not frustration. "Are you telling me no man has ever done that to you though? How is that even possible?"

She raised her voice to match his, but her tone was defensive. "I haven't ever wanted them to, it's so so intimate Tony. It doesn't seem like just a lead in to sex. I mean I know it is but I always thought there was something more to it. Something I wasn't willing to share with them." She paused, and then fumbled on her words, this was not something she ever in a million years would she have thought she would be saying out loud. And Tony was staring at her intently, almost like he was looking straight through her eyes to her soul. "I know it must sound stupid...I can't explain it, you won't understand!"

If it was possible, he had just fallen even deeper in love with her. "That's not true, I can understand." He couldn't hold out any longer so he kissed her. She kissed him back. It was rough and intense. They hadn't sorted things out yet. Michelle was so drawn to him. The pent up frustration and turmoil they had gone through was making everything so heated. She ran her hands under his shirt and grabbed onto his chest, he pushed his lower body into hers roughly. He pulled his lips away from hers, keeping them just an inch apart. His voice was deep and husky and as he spoke he continued to push his body into hers repeatedly. "I need to know, was Ryan right?"

Just the way her breaths were so heavy was turning him on even more. "Right about what?"

"Is this real between us? I need to know you are not confused about your feelings about me?"

His hands traced up her stomach and she pushed them up to her breasts. He grunted and she put her hands over his showing him how hard he could hold her. "Tony, I wouldn't be here if this wasn't real."

His hands were exploring her roughly and he was kissing her neck and shoulder. "Why can't you say it" He had never been in a situation like this before. The passion between them was incredible, he couldn't get close enough to her, he wanted ever bit of her but he was so conscious that things were not resolved between them, they were basically still in the middle of arguing. He knew she was still upset and confused but he needed to hear her tell him something, something that would let him know he was safe to completely let himself go with her right now. "I know you are angry, just tell me you are not going anywhere..."

Like Tony, Michelle had never been in a position like this before. She needed Tony like she had never needed anything before. She was scared because she was so confused about everything but right now being as close to Tony as possible seemed like it could make everything else disappear, even if just for a little while. "I love you."

He pulled at her shirt buttons with such force that they actually broke and in an instant her entire top was open. "You love me?" He wasn't questioning her, he was repeating her words, enforcing them.

"Yes" she panted.

"Come here." He picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He was going to go to the bedroom but that seemed too far away, he sat her down on his couch but only for long enough to reach around and undo her bra. They took a moment to stare at one another before he helped her take off her shirt. She pulled his top over his head and then pushed her so she was lying down. His legs were still between hers, he lowered his head and began to suck hardly on her nipples at the same time using his hands to explore every inch of her breasts. "I love you. You are everything to me Chelle."

She was his. She had never felt like this before. No mans touch had ever made her feel like this. For the first time in her life she wanted everything, she wanted to be as close to him as possible. Watching the way he touched her, the way he used his mouth on her made her whole body feel weak. The desperation to have each other was taking them both by surprise.

He shifted slightly to the side and she took the opportunity to reach for his belt buckle. He grunted and moved his body to the side giving her complete access. As she fumbled with his belt and buckle he ran his hand up her leg, up her skirt and pulled at the side of her panties. Neither one of them had the patience to allow the other to do what they were doing so he took her hand and pinned it above her head. This stopped everything for a moment and all they could hear was the deep panting of one another as they tried to catch their breath. He whispered into her ear, "Don't move."

She nodded and he slipped down her body, reaching back under her skirt for her panties and pulled them off. As he stood he pulled his own pants down before crawling back on top of her. "Better?"

She nodded her head again. "Better." They began to kiss again. Within moments his hand had made its way up her skirt between her legs. "Oh My God, Tony...shit."

Hearing her talk like that drove him wild. He hoped he wasn't being too rough with her but by the way she started to sway her hips to his rhythm he knew wasn't. As the force of his hand pushed her body up and down she was rubbing against him. At this rate he wasn't going to last, she had him so riled up.

He wanted to bad to be able to use his mouth on her but he didn't know if she would let him, or want him to. He unzipped the side of her skirt and pulled it off. He could see how nervous she was. He slowed his hand down as he looked her in the eyes, "Do you trust me?"

"Yes"

"You know I'd never hurt you?"

"Yes...why?"

He collapsed his head into her neck. He didn't know how to ask.

"What's wrong baby?"

He sighed. "Nothing, nothing is wrong. I just want, I want to be...I want to be that guy that..." He stopped unsure of how to finish the sentence.

Michelle knew what he meant. "Tony..."

"I don't want to make you uncomfortable; I'd never do anything you didn't want me to."

She used her hands to guide his head so he was looking at her. "You are that guy...I'm just nervous."

"Hey, I'm nervous too sweetheart. More than you can imagine."

Looking into his eyes, she was sure they were a little watery. His forehead was covered in sweat and his hair was sticking straight up. She knew he was the man she would be with forever. "We are going to sort everything out right?"

He wondered how someone could look so adorable, nervous, scared, vulnerable all at the one time. "Everything baby, we are going to be fine. I'll do anything in this world to make you feel as happy as I do. You are my world Chelle, there is no turning back for me now."

Little tears started to make their way down her cheeks and he kissed them away. "I want you to Tony..."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Stop me at anytime."

She nodded her head and ran her hand down the side of his cheek. He caught it and kissed it.

He slowly started to kiss his was down her chest and stomach. The further down he got the louder he could hear her breathing. He looked up to check she was ok. Her eyes were closed, her mouth open slightly. He smiled. "Look at me baby, I want you to watch." He kept his eyes on her until she did as he asked and then he continued to make his way down.

As Michelle felt his mouth on her she was so thankful she had kept this one thing for him. He was soft and gentle and it felt more amazing than she could have ever imagined.

Tony was in heaven. Nothing in the world could ruin this moment...that was until he heard the buzzer for his apartment ring. His parents were here with Jess. "Fucking hell."

Michelle jumped up and they both scrambled for their clothes. "I am so sorry baby, I am so sorry." Tony couldn't believe this was happening.

Michelle begged him to stop apologizing, it wasn't his fault. He ran to his room and grabbed her one of his sweatshirts and tracksuit pants to put on. The buzzer rang again. Finally they were decent enough to open the door. He answered the buzzer and told them to come on up.

He turned to Michelle. "Oh shit, please do me a favour and whatever you do, don't tell them I got suspended for decking David."

"Ok, I won't but I am sure they would understand."

"Nah, not at the moment, I already got in trouble this morning for my temper from mum."

Michelle giggled. He pulled her in and hugged her kissing the top of her head. "Your secret is safe with me."

"Thank you."

"Oh and Tony...that was amazing, you were amazing."

"Trust me Chelle, I was only getting started. But you, my dear, are the most incredible woman in this world. I don't even know how to get my head around what just happened."

"Me either."

A second later and there was a knock on the door.

**Please review if you are reading my story, helps me to know if I should continue or not. Thank you!**


	5. Chapter 5

**THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR REVIEWS, You guys rock! I really appreciate you taking the time to not only read my story but review it. I hope you like this chapter, it was a harder one to write. All the usual, I don't own 24. **

**Swearing and loads of sexual content...you have been warned...**

The second the door was open Natalie took one look at Tony's black eye and gasped. "Anthony Almeida! What has happened?"

Tony had completely forgotten about the black eye, so much for not letting his mum know he had gotten in a fight today. He decided trying to brush it off was his best option. "It's no big deal. Come in. Dad, I want you to meet Michelle, Michelle this is my Dad, Charlie."

Michelle was going to shake Charlie's hand but instead he hugged her. "I have heard so much about you Michelle, it is so nice to finally meet you and I don't even know where to begin with thanking you for everything you have done for my Jess and Tony."

Michelle smiled. It was lovely to be welcomed by his father this way. She couldn't believe how much Tony looked like his Dad. Charlie was a very striking handsome man. "Nice to meet you Mr Almeida...'

"Charlie!"

"Charlie", she smiled. "Thank you and it is a pleasure to meet you."

She then gave Natalie and Jess a big hug. It only took a minute before Natalie asked Tony again what had happened to his eye. Tony looked at Michelle pleadingly for help. Michelle slid her arm around Tony, "It wasn't Tony's fault, he was sticking up for me with that guy David at work."

Charlie almost had a look of pride in his eyes that his son had protected Michelle. He knew Tony inside out and knew he would never just get into a fight or use his trained skills over nothing.

Natalie on the other hand was still shaken up over the events of the last couple days. "Anthony Almeida!" She stopped herself and a look of worry flashed across her face..."are you ok? Are you hurt anywhere else?"

Tony shook his head. "No mum, I'm fine, really. It wasn't that big of a deal."

Tony led them all into the living room. Charlie put his hand on his son's shoulder. "How did you both go today? How was the debrief?"

"As well as it could go I guess, although we were both deemed unfit to return to work for a couple weeks." He had a cheeky smile, "Something about needing time to calm down and sort out our emotions."

Michelle tried to keep thing light hearted along with Tony. "Yeah, they don't want us back till we can 'focus' better."

Natalie looked relieved. "Well I think you both do really need some time off to recover. You have been through far too much the past week. Is there anything we can do to help out?"

Michelle sat on the couch. "You have already been amazing, thanks again for everything."

Charlie walked over to Michelle and sat beside her. "How does your eye feel? Do you mind if I check it out?"

Jess laughed, "He is a doc Chelle, he can't help himself."

"Sure."

Charlie had Michelle tilt her head back and he studied the wound closely. "Has the swelling gone down much at all?"

By this point Tony was standing behind Michelle with his hands rested on her shoulders. "Not really. Yesterday she couldn't open her eye at all but it seems to be much the same."

"Have you been putting an ice pack or anything on it?"

"No. I haven't done anything."

Charlie looked up at Tony. "I think you should get an ice pack and hold it gently to the side of the eye for 10-15 minutes every hour or so."

"Ok, does it look ok Dad? Do the stitches look like they are holding ok and everything?"

"Yes, I think the doctor did a pretty good job, you will want to keep them in for at least 10 days though." He looked at Michelle. "You just make sure this son of mine takes good care of you and makes sure you get lots of rest! How is the pain?"

"It's alright, I mean I can feel it all the time, it's just if I forget and touch it that it really hurts. But I am fine."

Charlie could tell she was putting on a brave face. He really liked her already. She seemed so down to earth, clearly was a very strong woman and obviously had Tony completely hooked. "Ok, well just make sure to watch it carefully, if it starts to become really red or more swollen you need to get it looked at straight away."

Michelle smiled, "Thanks doc!"

They all chuckled a little. They spent another few minutes chatting before Natalie and Charlie had to leave. They all hugged goodbye and wished Charlie good luck for his conference and agreed to speak the next day. The whole time they were talking, Tony felt like he couldn't take his eyes off Michelle. He couldn't stop picturing what had happened before they were interrupted. Everything was different now, he couldn't look at her without his entire stomach doing flips and images of her naked body flooded his mind. A few times they caught eye contact and the look she gave him spoke volumes. No one had ever looked at him the way she looked at him now and he loved it.

Jess took a call on her cell phone and went to the spare bedroom. Tony crossed the lounge to Michelle and took her in his arms. "That just felt like the longest 30 minutes of my life...sweetheart I can't stop thinking about us...you...how intense..."

"That was intense wasn't it? I still can't get my head around what happened. How did we go from yelling at each other to that?"

He leant down and kissed her neck. "I have no idea. I wasn't too rough with you was I?"

She smiled shyly, "Almeida, you were incredible, the way you...I...we...were...was so intense but I felt so impatient, like I couldn't get enough of you."

"I was the same way baby, I was on the edge of losing it the entire time..."

That thought made her grin, "Really?"

He chuckled in her ear, "Couldn't you feel how much you turn me on baby?"

She ran her hand with force over his groin and whispered, "Yes."

He let out a loud grunt in shock at what she had just done. He hoped like hell Jess hadn't heard. He pulled her into a tight hug, "You had better be careful sweetheart, if you haven't noticed I'm not very good at controlling myself."

She rested her head in his chest. "I wish we could just go away for a few days. Get away from everything, forget about everything."

He held her for a moment as her words sank in then he pulled her back a little to look in her eyes. "Why not? We can! We can totally just leave for a few days."

Her face started to light up. "Are you serious?"

"Why not Chelle, what is stopping us?"

"Where would we go?"

"Mexico? We could just go stay at a resort. Think about it, you ...me...no work...lying by the pool..."

She literally bounced on the spot in excitement. "Oh My God let's do it! Let's just go!"

He kissed her hard on the mouth. "You feeling spontaneous? I could have us on a plane tomorrow."

"What about Jess?"

Tony sighed. He hadn't thought about that. "Tony let's take her with us, she needs a break to and you know you won't be able to relax because you are still worried about her."

"You are amazing Chelle but I need time with just you."

Michelle smiled cheekily, "So let's tell Jess to bring a friend. That way they can do their thing, we can do our thing and we will still know she is ok?"

He kissed her mouth, then her cheek, then her neck. "God I love the way you think. Let's get this sorted."

He turned around and yelled, "JESS GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE!"

Jess came running into the room in a flash. She could see both Tony and Michelle smiling. "What?...What's going on with you two?"

"Feel like going on a little holiday?"

She looked completely confused. "What are you talking about?"

Tony started pacing the room he was so excited. "We want to go to Mexico for a few days...like tomorrow. We need to get out of here. And we want to take you with us."

She started laughing and her eyes grew wide. "You want to take me on your little love fest?"

Tony smirked at her. "That's why you get to bring a friend you little brat. That way I can keep an eye on you and don't have to share Michelle with you ALL the time!"

She was still laughing in disbelief. "Tony, I can't afford that." Then she turned to Michelle. "And before you say anything Chelle you have already done way too much for me."

Tony started making his way to the phone. "This one is on me kid. No arguments. Now pick a friend...a decent one...your least annoying one, get on the phone and tell her to start packing. I'm going to book flights now."

Michelle reached for her phone. "I'll book a hotel."

First they jumped on the internet and figured out where they wanted to stay. Nothing could wipe the smile off their faces. Once they picked a place, Tony ordered Jess to go phone a friend while he called the airline. Michelle sat on the couch and called the hotel. She was amused watching the way Tony interacted with Jess. He liked to act bossy but yet was affectionate at the same time.

Tony had no problem getting 4 seats on a flight out the next afternoon. He laughed when he heard Jess squealing with excitement from the other room on the phone to her friend. He looked over at Michelle who looked half asleep lying on the couch still on the phone. "I'm on hold." She whispered.

He went in to ask Jess who she was bringing so he knew who to book the ticket for. She was bringing her friend Ashley. He told her the flight was for 2pm and to tell Ashley they would pick her up just before 11am.

He wondered out to the living room to check how Michelle was going. Her eyes were closed, her hand was flopped off the side of the couch and the phone was on the floor. She was sound asleep. His heart melted. He had forgotten she hadn't slept at all the night before. She looked so adorable. He picked up the phone to a dead line. He grabbed a blanket and put it over her and then snuck back into the spare room with Jess.

"You wouldn't believe it, Chelle feel asleep whilst on the phone booking the hotel!"

They both laughed. "Let's let her sleep. I'll call the hotel back."

2 hours later, everything was booked and planned and he and Jess had spent most of the time chatting. He was enjoying this time with his sister. It made him realize with the hours he worked and the way CTU had ruled his life over the past few years he had never made enough time for her. He felt guilty. All that was going to change though. Being with Michelle had made him realize work was nowhere near as important as he had let it become.

By 9pm, they were both starving. He suggested he order in pizza. Just as he was getting off the phone Michelle knocked on the door and opened it, still half asleep. "What happened?"

He jumped up, "You my dear, had some well deserved rest."

"We are going away though right? I didn't just dream that?"

He kissed her on the forehead. "We sure are. We have a flight at 2 tomorrow, Jess is bringing her friend Ashley and I just ordered a pizza because we are starving."

"I can't believe we are doing this! I can't remember the last time I took a vacation. This is going to be so much fun."

They decided to get a little packing done before the food arrived. Jess and Michelle both needed to figure out what they needed to go and get from their own apartments. It was going to be an early start in the morning.

They sat at the table to eat talking about the trip. Not long after Jess decided to go to bed. Michelle and Tony were ready as well.

As Tony pulled Michelle under the covers with him she wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. "Tony?"

"Yes sweetheart?"

"I need to ask you something. It's going to drive me crazy if I don't."

He rolled onto his side and supported himself up on his elbow. Michelle was flat on her back. He traced his hand across her stomach. "What are you thinking about?"

"You are having a hard time trusting me aren't you...with other men I mean?"

He was completely shocked. That was the last thing he expected her to say. "Why on earth would you think that?"

"The way you acted with the phone call to Nick and then Jackson today."

He sighed. "Michelle, that's not about you. This is my issue, my problem. I do trust you, I trust you with my life..."

"Yeah but not with your heart."

He watched as tears made their way down her cheeks. He felt sick that he had made her feel that way. "Yes I do. I trust you with my heart baby. It's hard for me to explain because I am trying to get my own head around it still but I guess I have been feeling jealous and nervous. With everything that has been happening, I've been so scared that the slightest thing is going to ruin what I have wanted with you for so long."

"Has a girlfriend ever cheated on you in the past?"

"Yes. I've had it happen a couple times to me BUT this is different Chelle. It's not like that with you. I've never ever even come close to feeling about someone the way I do with you. Every other relationship just seems so pathetic when I think about you and what I can have with you."

"I'd never do that to you Tony. Never."

He stopped to think for a moment and then decided to really open up to her. "Can you understand that it is hard for me to know that any guy would do anything to be with you. I mean just in the past couple days, I've see Jeff crack on to you, all this stuff with David and even just seeing the way Jackson touched you. I honestly didn't know he was gay but it still kinda hurt seeing someone else touching you like that."

"Tony, I can get that, it has all looked really bad. But you have to know that I don't care about anyone but you. I don't want anyone touching me but you. I don't want another woman looking at you or touching you either. I'd feel sick..."

"Really?"

"Really baby. I don't want anyone to be a part of what we have. I want to be yours and yours only. And I want you to be mine."

He felt so relieved. "I've been so surprised at how jealous I've acted. I've tried to control it but as you have seen I haven't been able to. But hearing you say that makes me feel so much better. With everything that has happened I keep feeling like I am going to lose you and it is making me feel out of control."

"What can I do Tony to help?. Is there something you need me to say or do?"

"I guess I just need you to keep being patient with me. You have already been so patient and amazing to me but I'm not going to be able to just get this under control overnight. I've got a temper and now clearly some jealously issues but I'll work on them."

She traced the side of his face with her thumb. "I fell in love with who you are Tony, I don't need you to change yourself for me. I just need you to be able to trust and know in your heart that I'll never hurt you."

"I do baby, I do. Thank you. Over the next couple days I really want us to talk." He gave her a cheeky grin, "We didn't exactly finish our conversation this afternoon but I don't want you to think I'm just ignoring it or anything. I want to talk to you about it all, so you understand, especially about the stuff with Chapelle."

She nodded her head.

He cupped her chin so she would look at him. "I know you are trying but you have these times where you put walls up, like you are so scared to let me in and I have to force you to tell me what you are really feeling."

"That's because I've never really had someone to talk to about so much stuff. I have some really special girlfriends, that I can't wait for you to meet but they don't understand the job and what goes with it." She lowered her eyes. "And I've never been able to talk about Dad. I try with Danny sometimes but he has been so messed up lately with all that crap with Carrie he isn't exactly the most stable person to be going to."

He looked at her adoringly. "Your Dad is so proud of you sweetheart. I know he is watching over you and I hope he can see how much I love you and will look after you. I want you to talk to me about your Dad when you feel up to it. I'd love to learn about the man that raised the best thing that has ever happened to me."

"Really? You are so much like him in so many ways Tony. He would have loved you."

He leaned in and kissed her sweetly and gently. They both paused when they could faintly hear Jess laughing with Ashley on the phone again about what to pack. They both laughed. He kissed her again, "She is so excited to come. I think she is in shock that her brother wants her to come and hang out like we have been. She told me tonight that she has never felt closer to me than she has the last 2 days. So much of that is because of you Chelle."

"I love having her around Tony. She is lucky to have you for a brother."

"And I'm lucky to have you." He ran his hand up to her breasts and began to circle her nipple. He loved watching her face when he touched her like that.

Michelle used her hand to push Tony from his side so he was lying on his back. It looked like he was going to say something but then decided against it. She could tell she had shocked him so she decided to keep it going. She began to kiss his bare chest and as she positioned herself over him a little she felt him push his hard self against her hip. She let out encouraging groan as she trailed her hand along his thigh. He turned her on even more when he suddenly covered her hand with his and pushed it right up his thigh to his groin. He grunted as she pulled his boxer shorts down. He studied her face, nervous to see her reaction to seeing him like this. Her one eye widened and she mumbled something under her breath right before she took him in her mouth.

His body jerked so much that it actually lifted Michelle up and down. She could hear him trying to take long slow deep breaths but it wasn't really working. He went to put his hands on her head but then when he remembered about her bruise they landed back down on the bed. He clutched at the sheets. "Holy shit...baby...shit..."

Tony was going to lose it. He couldn't believe it but he just wasn't going to be able to last more than another minute. He had thought about this for a long time and she had had him so turned on today that even just thinking about what she was doing to him was enough to make him explode. He felt anxious that he would disappoint her if he could barely last a couple minutes but he had completely lost control. "I'm sorry...shit baby...I can't hold on..."

"Don't hold on..." with that she upped her pace and caught eye contact with him, "come for me." That pushed him over the edge and he climaxed like he had never experienced. His whole body was moving and she stayed over him, still in her mouth. She remained like that until she could see his hands unclench from the sheets, white from gripping on so hard.

In one fluid move he picked her up and rolled her onto her back. He kissed her stomach as he removed her panties and then trailed his tongue down. His heart was still racing so fast. He used one hand on her hip to help guide her body and used the other to explore her chest. As she pushed her hips up he held her tighter. He could hear all sorts of whimpers and groans as she desperately tried to keep as quiet as she could.

She murmured his name repeatedly and he looked up to see her throw her own hand across her mouth to muffle her sounds.

Michelle tried to tell him she was close but she couldn't form a sentence and she didn't trust if she took her hand away that she wouldn't be too loud. She used her other hand to grip onto his head. She was so lost in him she couldn't control her body as it withered under him and he had to use both hands on her hips to keep her still. She could hear and feel him grunting almost growling and that sent shivers through her entire body. As she climaxed she lifted her shoulders and head off the bed.

Before she knew what had happened he swapped his mouth for his hand and all of a sudden he was kissing his way back up her stomach. She loved how he took control and guided their every move. As he reached her mouth he pushed her back down onto the bed as they kissed. She felt the full weight of his body on hers and she knew that this was it; he was going to take her completely.

He slowly pulled his face back enough from hers to look her in the eyes. "I need you sweetheart." His voice was husky and broken by his deep breathing.

She couldn't find the words so instead she reached her hands around his neck, pulled him back into a kiss and pushed her body into his.

Once Tony was as close to her as possible he tried to calm himself down a little. He wanted this moment to last forever. He pulled his head back and supported himself up by his elbows and just gazed at her. She told him she loved him but her voice was so quiet he could only read her lips. "Say it again Chelle."

"I love you Tony. I love you."

He pushed deeper and repeated her words. Tony could only keep things so slow and gentle for a few minutes before the desire became too much. They matched each other's rhythm perfectly, and they both nuzzled their mouths into one another's necks to muffle their groans. They both reached that point again together and then completely collapsed into one another's arms.

They lay without a word for a few minutes as they caught their breath and soaked in the moment. Finally when he could feel her heart rate return to normal he lifted his head and kissed her. "I don't know what to say other than, that was perfect, you are perfect"

"I love being this close to you Tony. You are incredible."

**I hope you liked! Please let me know your thoughts. Anything you want to see happen? I have a couple ideas of where I want to take this but interested to hear if you guys want to see anything in particular. THANKS**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you so much for the reviews, you guys are awesome. Thanks for reading my story. I don't own 24 etc...bad language and sexual content...not for kiddies:)**

It was their first night in at the hotel. It had been a completely crazy day. Before their flight they had to go to both Jess and Michelle's apartments to get more things and then pick up Ashley. By the time they got to the hotel and had checked in it was almost dinner time.

Tony had booked a room for Jess and Ashley to share and one for him and Michelle. The girls were on the same floor as Tony and Michelle but at the other end of the hallway.

Michelle had spent most of the day just enjoying watching Tony try and keep all them in line. He seemed flustered being the only guy and he also wasn't use to hanging out with 2 20 year old girls. He knew Jess was old enough to do whatever she wanted but he still looked at her as his little sister and it was weird for him watching her fast becoming such close friends with Michelle. He loved it but already they were teaming up on him and now with Ashley as well, they were certainly keeping him on his toes.

They had eaten dinner at the resort and now Tony and Michelle were lying by the pool in a private cabana talking whilst Jess and Ashley were swimming and having a couple drinks. Tony could see Jess was already tipsy and had decided he wanted to keep an eye on them both. Michelle thought it was cute that Tony was trying to remain calm but was clearly flustered watching his little sister having a few drinks and chatting to some guys with Ashley by the pool. "Baby they are fine you know, she is not a little kid anymore."

"I know, I guess I'm just not use to seeing this side of her. Usually I just see her around our parents at family things, not drinking and flirting with a bunch of guys."

"It is good to see her having some fun after the last few days."

Tony turned so he was facing Michelle and ran his hand up her arm. "And what about you? Are you having fun?"

"Oh my God, it is so nice to be away from the office and to be here with you. I never thought in a million years this would happen. I still can't believe you and I are on vacation together!"

He grinned. "Pretty crazy huh! Just lying here with you like this makes it feel so easy to forget about everything back home."

"I'd be happy at this point to never go back!" Her voice dropped a little. "Umm Tony, what is happening with the funerals for everyone? Ryan mentioned some kind of service of something?"

"From what I understand, Division has a team of people that are putting together a big service for everyone we lost. A lot of the families are going to have their own funerals and then we are allowed to have a service for the office and different divisions. Ryan said he would call me when they have set the date."

"Ok...Tony are you worried that everything that happened at work yesterday is going to affect our positions? I mean, surely it can't be good we were both deemed not fit to return to work and then all of this stuff with David..."

He pulled her in closer so she was wrapped in his arms, "I don't want you to worry about that. Just about everyone that was in the office when the bomb went off has been put on leave, so we are no different to anyone else. And I'm glad the David shit came out because it will put a stop to it all. Ryan was very pissed off to learn the way David had been talking about you...its sexual harassment Chelle...so it is a good thing he is going to be dealt with."

"I just had no idea that any of that was going on. I thought the girls were bad with gossip sometimes in the office but it seems like the men are even worse."

"A lot of big egos in our industry baby. A lot of men out to prove how amazing they think they are in every way possible." He kissed the side of her head, "You know, I still want to deal with Jeff when we get back as well. That was so out of line."

"Baby, don't worry about it. If he bothers me again, I'll say something but there is enough to worry about at the moment."

He nodded his head but Michelle could tell he wasn't going to just forget about it. She decided to just leave it for now and deal with it when they got home. She loved lying with Tony like this. It was still so warm out and she couldn't remember the last time she had done anything like this. Just to not have to worry about the phone ringing every 2 minutes and be able to concentrate on being with Tony was the best feeling in the world. She knew they were both still very wound up but that was going to take awhile before they were both able to start calming down. Her head hurt like hell but she was taking heaps of the pain tablets she had been given, trying ignore it.

She got up and pulled the curtain closed on their cabana giving them complete privacy.

Tony gave her a cheeky grin, "What ya doin?"

She slowly made her way back to him. "Just want a little time with you without the whole complex being able to see..."

"And to think all this time I thought you were so innocent."

"Hey!...You can talk!"

He pulled her down on top of him. "Baby, I don't think I have had one innocent thought about you since the day we met."

She laughed. "Almeida, are you telling me when we were sitting in your office all those times doing reports you were not just thinking about the work?"

He ran his hands down over her chest. "I'm surprised I got any work done this year. I could think of a million times I would have rather had been doing something else with you in my office then work!"

"Like what?"

He started kissing her neck. "I don't want to ruin my reputation of being a gentleman..."

She laughed as she stared into his eyes. "You have your moments, but right now I don't care about that, I want to know what's been running through that mind of yours."

He couldn't believe how much she turned him on. Just hearing her talk like this to him drove him wild. She had a very cheeky little grin and her hands were running up and down his chest firmly. He whispered, "One of my favourites is imagining laying you on your back on my desk with your legs wrapped around me as I stand. I get to kiss every inch of you before taking you..."

"Is this a gentle loving thing or a rough passionate moment you are picturing?"

He growled at her question. "Oh baby, there was nothing gentle about it...you keep begging me to go harder and faster and I am giving you everything I've got..."

"Almeida, I think it is safe to say I've had the very same thoughts..."

"Really?" His voice was high pitched and full of shock.

"Really." She sat up enough to pull his board shorts down to his thighs. She was so aware how intently he was staring at her, his mouth hanging wide open. She sat back on top of his lap and pushed herself into him. He gasped and grunted.

Michelle was in a bikini with a little skirt and singlet top on. "Baby, take off your bather bottoms...I need you." His voice had gone all deep and husky again, every word turning her on more and more. She did as he asked, the second she had pulled the bathers down he pulled her back onto his lap. They sat still for a moment as they took one another in. "God you are beautiful."

She bit her lip nervously as she smiled at him and then lifted herself up a tiny bit. Tony reached down and guided himself into her. She pushed down firmly making them both sigh. Within seconds Tony was taking the lead, he put his hands on her waist and began moving her body up and down. Right from the start it was passionate and fast. He loved watching her face, especially as she tried to keep quiet. She leaned back a little with her eyes closed and he used one hand to reach for her breasts. He was getting so caught up in the moment and was pushing himself into Michelle so hard that he worried he might be getting a little too rough with her. "You ok? I don't want to hurt you."

She kept her head back and her eyes closed, "You feel incredible. Harder..."

He grunted, tightened his grip on her and then moved his body harder and faster. He wished he could last forever, this was so powerful and amazing but with every thrust he was getting closer and closer and knew he wouldn't be able to hang on much longer. He was relieved when he heard her tell him she was close.

"Look at me Michelle."

She opened her eyes and stared into his. She begged him. "Tony...please...oh my god...Tony."

That was it, her words drove him insane. "Tell me again, tell me you want me."

She leaned her head down as much as she could, "I want you Tony, I want you to come."

She barely got her words out as he climaxed taking her with him. She kissed his chest and then up to his mouth. He opened her lips with his tongue and then slipped it inside her mouth kissing her passionately. They were both still panting and trying to catch their breath making the kiss broken but neither one of them wanting to stop even for a minute to calm down.

Eventually Michelle sat back up a little. "I hope we weren't too loud."

Tony loved that she was blushing, suddenly becoming a little shy over what had just happened. "I don't care...that was unbelievable."

"You are unbelievable Almeida, I love you so much."

"I love you sweetheart, you are everything to me."

By 1am Tony and Michelle were still lying by the pool talking, they couldn't get enough of learning about each other. They had opened the curtains back up and Jess and Ashley were now sitting in the spa laughing away. Tony went to order them another drink, on his way back he saw Michelle taking pain tablets. "Baby, you only took some an hour ago. Are you in a lot of pain?"

"It's just throbbing..."

"Why don't you tell me sweetheart?"

"I don't know, I don't want to ruin the moment, it has been such a special night."

He took her hand and kissed the back of it. "It has baby but you have to tell me how you are feeling. It is not going to ruin anything."

"Sorry..."

"Don't apologize, just promise me you will tell me how you are going. That's pretty strong stuff you have got there and if it is not helping the pain enough maybe we should be getting it checked by a doctor?"

"How does it look?"

Tony sat next to her and had her turn her head toward the light. The wound was really quite red but it was hard to tell if it was more red than before or not. "It's very red baby but I don't know if it is worse or not. I think if it is not looking better in the morning I'll have the doctor at the hotel look at it."

"Ok, thanks." Michelle was really in a lot of pain. Never one to ever cause a fuss but she agreed that if it wasn't a bit better by morning she would want to get it checked out. She was going through the tablets like nothing else and it wasn't helping at all.

Tony knew as soon as Michelle agreed that she must be a huge amount of pain. He had seen her come to work with a raging flu and refuse to even see the doctor in the clinic at the office. He became quite worried. He decided to take a picture of the wound so they would have something to compare it to. He asked Michelle to come up to an area by the bar in the light so he could take a picture. After he was done he pulled her into a hug. "You ready to try and get some sleep?"

"I'm tired but I just don't want this day to end..."

"We've got a few more days here baby, we are going to have so much fun, I promise. Come on, I'm looking forward to wrapping you up in my arms."

They went over to Ashley and Jess and told them they were heading up to bed. The girls said they would be coming in soon as well. They agreed to meet up for lunch the next day.

As they were walking back to their room Tony had an email come in from his Dad who had just gotten home from a shift. He was just writing to say that he hoped they had gotten there safely and were having a good time. Tony decided that since his Dad was awake he would call him and ask about Michelle.

Michelle said she would wash up whilst he was on the phone with his Dad. Charlie immediately asked Tony to take a picture of Michelle's wound and send it to him, Tony told him he had just done it and sent it over to him. His Dad called him back a couple minutes later after looking at the picture. "Can you get another one Tony? I need it in better light and closer up?"

"Sure, I'll do it now and send it straight over, just call me once you have had a look."

When Michelle came out of the bathroom Tony was really shocked to see how pale she looked. It hadn't been noticeable when they were outside in the dark but now under the lights she was so pale. Her eye was definitely a lot more red than it had been. "Baby...I'm really worried. You are very pale. You have to be so honest with me. How are you really feeling?"

She sat on the bed and spoke with a quiet voice. "It really hurts Tony. It's throbbing so hard and it's making my eye really sore and a bit blurry. And I've taken a lot more of the tablets than I should have, I'm almost out."

"Almost out? Oh my God, sweetheart, I can't believe this. I've been dragging you on planes and out to dinner all of this...we should have stayed at home and got you rested for a few days before we came away."

"No, I wanted to come away, it's not your fault."

"Why have you been so worried to tell me how bad this actually is?"

Michelle sighed. "Tony, I feel bad. I don't want Jess to get upset about it. Every time she looks at me I see her frown, like she blames herself, I don't want her to feel that way."

Tony put his arm around her. "You are too good sometimes, you know that? You have to put yourself first baby. Jess would be more upset to think you were not getting looked after properly and getting better because you didn't want to speak up. This isn't about Jess, this is about you. I need to take another couple pictures in the proper light to send over to Dad."

Tony took 5 pictures. Some close-ups and a couple of the entire bruise and Michelle's face. He sent them straight over to his Dad. Then whilst he waited to hear back he got Michelle into bed and comfortable.

Charlie called back within minutes. Tony walked out onto the balcony and told his Dad that now that they were inside he was really surprised to see how pale Michelle was. He also told him how much tablets she had been taking to try and help with the pain. Charlie told Tony that he was extremely concerned about Michelle. That her wound most certainly was infected.

"So should I take her to the doctor?"

"Yes, you need to do it now. Don't wait until the morning. She needs to be seen straight away."

"Shit Dad, how bad could this be?"

"It depends what type of an infection it is and how high the levels are. I think the doctor at the hotel will send her to the hospital."

"I should never have brought her away so quickly. I just didn't think it was this bad."

"It will be ok Tony, you just need to get on top of this as quickly as possible. Whatever Michelle is saying, I can tell you she would be in a lot of pain so don't let her sugar coat how she is feeling."

Tony felt sick. He looked back in at Michelle who now had her eyes closed. He told his Dad he would go call the doctor. Charlie told him to call him back and let him know what was happening, no matter what the time.

When Tony hung up he called the front desk and asked them to send a doctor up to their room immediately. He was told someone would be there in a couple minutes.

He walked back inside. Michelle opened her eyes when he came in. Tony sat on the bed next to her. "What does your Dad say?"

"That he thinks it is infected and you need to see a doctor."

"Ok, well in the morning we can see if the hotel has one yeah?"

He shook his head. "No baby, Dad said we can't afford to wait that long. I've already called the front desk and a doctor should be here in a minute."

"Was your Dad worried? Should I be worried?"

He kissed the side of her head, "I'll look after you sweetheart. Now are you comfortable being in your PJ's with the doctor coming? Do you want to pull on one of my t-shirts to cover up a bit more?"

She nodded and so he quickly grabbed one of his t-shirts. She had barely got it pulled over her head when the doctor knocked on the door. Tony filled him on the situation and then the doctor went over to Michelle and inspected her. Within minutes he explained that the wound was infected and was pulling on the stitches. Michelle needed to go straight to the hospital. Tony could see how upset Michelle looked as soon as the doctor said it. She looked frightened. He took her hand in his and told her it would be ok, he wouldn't leave her side. The doctor called downstairs and organized for a car to take them to the hospital. He told Tony to gather anything he and Michelle wanted because they would most likely be at the hospital at least for the night. Tony raced around the room and put a little bag together for them. He thanked the doctor and saw him out. The doctor was going to phone the hospital and give them a heads up about Michelle.

Once he was out the door Michelle looked up at Tony. "What do you think the hospitals are like here Tony? Oh god, I shouldn't have said anything, I don't want to go."

"Sweetheart, as soon as we got inside and I saw you in the light you didn't need to say anything, I can see how bad it is. I'm sure the hospital will be ok, if it's not I'll sort something out. I'm going to have to call Jess and my Dad baby and let them know what is happening."

Michelle didn't want Tony to but she knew she would never be able to talk him out of it and so she just let it go. She felt really nervous. Tony put his arm around her and led her downstairs. He called Jess first, she didn't answer her phone so he left a message. Then he sent his Dad a text and told him they were on the way to the hospital and that he would call him once they were at the hospital and he knew what was happening.

* * *

It took an hour to get to the hospital and be examined by a doctor. Michelle had gone so quiet, he was really worried about her. He was freaking out himself. He didn't feel comfortable at this hospital. He wanted Michelle to have the best care and he didn't think she was going to get it here. The doctor came into the room and informed them that Michelle required surgery. They needed to cut around the wound where the stitches were pulling and stretching the skin and sew it back up again neatly. She then needed to be on IV antibiotics for awhile. Tears ran down Michelle's cheeks. He kissed her hand and held it tightly trying to comfort her but the truth was he was just as upset. He didn't want Michelle having the surgery here. He wished they were home. He called his Dad back and explained what they had been told.

Tony told his Dad he was really uncomfortable being in Mexico. "I want to bring her home Dad, you could do the operation, right?"

"Yes of course I can do it son, if Michelle is comfortable with that. You need to get her back here on the next flight though, this isn't the type of thing that you can let too much time go past without treatment."

"What about Jess and Ashley? Are you happy for them to stay on here without us?"

"Yes, they will be fine. They are safe there together, just concentrate on Michelle."

"Ok, I'll call you back as soon as I know what time we will be back in LA."

"Alright, I'll call my assistant and let her know what's happening."

He called and got them on a flight in 2 hours. He went back into Michelle and sat on the bed next to her. He took her hands in his. "Sweetheart, we are going home. I'm not comfortable with you having the surgery here..."

"I am so sorry Tony. I am so so sorry. I've ruined our holiday..."

He stopped her talking by kissing her on the lips. "Don't you dare say that. Don't you dare say sorry. I should never have taken you away so quickly. I am so sorry this has all happened to you."

"Am I going to end up with a huge horrible scar?"

"No. Baby, I have just spoken to my Dad. He can do the surgery for you. He is one of the best Chelle. I'm sure he will be able to make it as neat as possible. I've got us on a flight in 2 hours and then we just take you straight in and get this done." He paused and kissed her again. "How would you feel about my Dad doing the operation? Would you be comfortable with that?"

She looked relieved. "Yeah, I'd much rather your Dad do the operation. Whatever you think I should do Tony, I'll do."

"Well I'd feel very comfortable knowing my Dad was looking after you. I just want to get you out of here now and home where I know you are in safe, good hands."

"What about Jess?"

"Well I am going to tell her and Ashley to just stay the rest of the time and enjoy themselves."

Michelle felt so out of it she just needed to let Tony make the decisions and follow his lead. He was making her feel safe by the way he was taking control, making quick decisions and organizing everything. After Tony explained to the hospital they were going to go back to LA to be treated by his father they gave Michelle an injection for pain to help her get through at least the next couple hours.

* * *

Jess and Ashley were waiting outside of Michelle and Tony's room when they got back to the hotel. Jess ran straight up to Michelle and hugged her. "Dad called me, I am so sorry. I can't believe this is happening."

"I'll be ok Jess, your Dad is going to stitch me up real good!" She was trying her best to be upbeat but it wasn't fooling anyone.

"Well we have already packed, we are ready to go."

Tony stepped forward. "No girls, you can both stay here and enjoy the rest of the trip. It is already paid for, I want you to just have a good time."

"No way Tony. All of this is happening because of me and Sam. There is no way I am going to stay here whilst Michelle has to go and have surgery..."

"But you can't do anything Jess, and this is not your fault..."

Tony was surprised when Jess literally put her foot down, raised her voice and spoke in a very assertive tone. "I am not even discussing this. I am coming back with you." She turned to Ashley. "Ash and I have already talked about it. I am not arguing with you about this Tony, you can't make me stay. Don't make me feel any worse about all this then I already do. I am not staying on a vacation whilst you guys are going through this. You have been there for me, done everything for me this week...do you really think I'd just let you leave and not want to be there for Michelle and you? Now, Ash and I already packed up your stuff, let's go."

Tony was taken aback by Jess but also very proud. He wasn't going to argue with her, he knew he would be doing the same thing as her. "Ok, I hear you, thank you. Ash, I'm sorry this has been cut short. Once we are all back on track we will come back and give this holiday another go."

Ashley smiled sweetly. "Don't apologise. I'm so grateful that you bought me here with you but Jess is right, we need to all leave together, I am just so so sorry for what you are going through."

Tony hadn't taken his arm off Michelle the entire time. He could feel her body swaying in his, she was feeling very out of it from the injection. She was quiet and withdrawn. He had Jess hold Michelle as he gathered their bags from the room and then they all made their way back downstairs.

* * *

It was nearly 8am by the time they arrived back in LA. They were all exhausted. Michelle had dozed on and off a little in the cars and on the plane but it was clear to them all that she was feeling worse and worse by the minute. Tony felt so anxious to just get her to the hospital and into his Dad's care.

Charlie had juggled his morning around to fit Michelle in first. It should be a very quick surgery. Natalie met them at the hospital and was shocked to see the sight of Michelle. "Oh darling...how are you doing?"

"I'm ok, glad to be here now. Tony did so good to get us home so quickly."

They all hugged and then Tony and Michelle were taken off to a room for her to be prepped for surgery. He helped her into a gown and got her settled into the bed. Not long after Charlie walked into the room. He hugged Tony and took Michelle's hand in his. "Ok Michelle, now this is a very easy procedure. I am basically just cutting out the wound and stitches around it, giving it a very good wash-out and clean and then sewing it back up neatly. It should only take 20 minutes. I'll have you set up on IV antibiotics during the procedure so that when you wake up it will already be started."

Tony sat next to Michelle. "How long will she need to be on the IV for Dad?"

"Well for infection levels usually you want the number to be 10 or below before you are comfortable to move onto oral antibiotics. At the moment, Michelle's level is 56. I know that sounds alarming but you will be amazed at how quickly the IV can get that under control. Maybe 3-4 days but I can be certain for sure. The whole time though we can give Michelle good pain relief through the IV." He looked at Michelle. "I promise you we will get you feeling a lot better quickly."

"Thank you so much Mr Alm.."

"Charlie."

"Charlie. I can't thank you enough."

"Michelle, I'll never be able to thank you for protecting my daughter the way you did. Or for making my son so happy. I am just incredibly sad this has all happened. I'm looking forward to seeing you feeling a lot better so maybe we can all go out for a nice dinner or something together." He turned to Tony. "Actually I have a box at the Cubs game in Chicago for the weekend after next, so maybe that can be the goal to get Michelle ready to be able to come and enjoy that...you do go for the cubs don't you Chelle?"

"I sure do. Born and raised in Chicago. I've never ever been in a box at a game before that would be amazing!"

Tony gave his Dad a high 5, "I told you being a super surgeon had its rewards Dad."

They all laughed. Charlie told Michelle he would see her in the operating room in a few minutes and then excused himself. Once he was gone Tony kissed Michelle gently on the lips. "I can't stop thinking about what we did...in the cabana...that can't have helped things. I'm really sorry baby, I feel like I have let you down. I should have known better, I should have used better judgement about this whole thing. I've just been so swept away with being with you, being so close to you finally that I haven't been..."

"Hey hey Tony, please don't say all that. I made the decisions with you. I'm the one that didn't speak up about the pain. Lets both try and forget about how and why everything has happened and just look forward to the future and putting this behind us."

"I love you sweetheart. Have you ever had surgery before? How are you feeling about it?"

"Yeah, I had my appendix out a few years ago and there has been some other stuff so I know what I am in for. I am a little nervous but I'll fine...just looking forward to getting it over with."

"What other stuff?"

He could see a look in Michelle's eyes that he could only place as fear. She caught him staring at her and shifted her head down. He could sense straight away that there was something.

"Just other minor things, really, no big deal. Hey do you think you could call Danny and let him know? His number is in my phone."

Tony wanted to press her, he knew there was something wrong. What could the other 'stuff' possibly be? Why would just saying it bring such a clear emotion to her expression? It wasn't the right time though, she was about to be taken away any second for the operation. He would wait and talk to her about it later. "Of course I can call Danny, and I'll be here waiting for you when you get back."

Just as he was finishing his sentence the door opened and 2 people walked in to take Michelle down to the operating room. Tony kissed Michelle on the lips and told her that he loved her. She returned his words. Just like that she was gone and Tony was left alone in the room with his thoughts.

He knew Michelle was in good hands with his Dad. He knew she would be ok but he felt so incredibly guilty that she was even going through all of this in the first place. The whole thing made him so angry, so angry at Sam, so angry at himself for not stopping Sam before he got that close. Angry that he hadn't taken the situation with Michelle's wound more seriously and waited until she was better before going away. He let out a huge breath of air he didn't even know he had been holding in. He took a few minutes to gather his thoughts and calm down a little before he called Danny. He didn't answer and so Tony left a message explaining what had happened, making sure to impress on Danny that Michelle was ok and in good hands, left his cell number and told him to call him back. Then he went to find his mum and Jess.

Ashley had caught a cab home and so it was just Jess and Natalie in the waiting room. The all sat together making small conversation. Tony couldn't really concentrate on anything other than watching the door waiting for the nurse to come and tell him Michelle was out of theatre. A few minutes later a nurse did appear but only because she had some questions for Tony.

The operation hadn't started yet because on the way down Michelle had remembered that she was allergic to a medication but couldn't remember the name of it. She was feeling pretty out of it and couldn't think straight. The nurse asked Tony to follow her to Michelle.

Michelle was lying on the bed into the corridor outside of the operating room. Charlie wanted to wait until they could get an answer back on this allergy before he proceeded. The nurse explained to Tony that Michelle was a little out of it but maybe he could either help her remember or gain permission from her to access her medical records from work or her GP.

He took her hand as soon as he reached her. "Hey baby. They tell me you think you have an allergy to something?"

"Yeah, the last surgery I had, I had a reaction to something I was given either during it or after it but I don't know what it was."

"That's ok. I just need you to tell me either which hospital you had the surgery or who your regular GP is so that we can find out. All of your medical records are at CTU files, are you happy for me to call and just ask them? It would save a lot of time."

"Do the records just have what the allergy is?"

He wasn't really following but again he could see that look in her eye, she was very uncomfortable about something. "Opposed to what baby?"

"Well will CTU just release the name of the drug or are they asking for the whole file?"

He lowered his head and whispered, "What are you worried about sweetheart?"

"Nothing."

"What was the last operation you had for Chelle?"

"Just a broken arm..."

"So how come you seem so nervous about your file?"

"Tony...please..."

"There is something you need to tell me isn't there baby?"

She sighed and a couple tears made their way down her cheeks. He was shocked. He gently used his thumb to wipe the tears away. "Sweetheart, what on earth could it be to make you cry just thinking about it?"

"Sorry, I'm just tired and being emotional."

"No more walls Chelle, remember? We are being completely open and honest with each other. You want our relationship to be the best it can be right?"

"Of course I do."

"Good...now what are you so worried about?"

"If I tell you then you are going to get extremely mad and disappointed in me. I can't handle that thought but I'd totally understand if you just wanted to walk away."

He was dumbfounded by her, what on earth could she have possibly done that would make her think he would walk away from her. He was so shocked he barely knew what to say. "There is nothing in there that could change the way I feel about you baby. I love you, I love you more than anything in the world. Don't you understand how special you are?"

She shook her head and more tears made their way down her cheeks, stinging her eye. She winced in pain. "I'm not the strong person you think I am Tony. I can't say it but I give you permission to call for my records."

He told her he would be back in a minute. He called CTU and spoke to Michael in medical. He was given the name of the drug within seconds but told Michael to pull up Michelle's file and wait for his call back. He told the nurses the name of the drug and then went back to Michelle. "I've got the name, the nurses are telling Dad now. I'm going to call Michael back once you get taken in."

She nodded her head. "Ok. Ok. Just remember that I love you Tony. I'll do anything to not make you disappointed or angry, I'll always do everything I can to look after you and make sure you are happy..."

He kissed her on the lips to stop her talking. He didn't understand. He had never heard Michelle talk like this before. She sounded so defeated. His heart was pounding. "I love you baby, nothing is going to change that. Why you would ever worry about disappointing me or making me angry I'll never know. You have been the only one that has gained my trust, my heart and made me happier than I ever thought possible. So just know, I'll be in your room waiting for you when you are out."

She looked a little relieved but almost like she didn't quite believe what he was saying. The door opened and Charlie stepped out. "All clear, good thing we checked because I would have used it but there are plenty of alternatives. Let's get started."

Tony kissed Michelle again before she was wheeled inside. He spun around and called Michael back.

"Mike, what is in the file? Something is really upsetting Michelle, something surrounding an operation she had I'm guessing in the last couple years for a broken arm?"

He heard Michael sigh on the other end of the phone. "Not just a broken arm Tony. Broken ribs, a stab wound...she was..."

"She was what? How did all that happen?"

"She was beaten up Tony. She has had the public records sealed but basically she was in a relationship with a man, Douglas Reid, he was abusive and she landed in hospital on several occasions from him beating her up. It looks like she left him very early on but he stalked her for close to 9 months. She took out an AVO against him, moved house, had him charged twice for assault but it wasn't until this last time he really laid into her that he was finally charged and put in jail. Looks like he is still in there."

Tony's heart felt so heavy. Tears ran down his cheeks. He rarely ever cried but right now just the thought of someone doing that to Michelle made him want to vomit. "There must be notes...the AVO, what does it say? Reasons? Anything?"

He waited as Michael read through the AVO orders. Finally. "Tony, it looks like this guy is seriously disturbed. Everything I am reading here is saying that Michelle did everything she could to get away from this guy but every time she had an order bought against him or upset him he would become violent. In her affidavit she states that he would get angry at her for the smallest things and fly into a rage. That he would tell her she had disappointed him for not dressing appropriately, or making him the right meal and he would just lose it. When she told him she didn't want to see him anymore he beat her up so bad she was in hospital for a week. That was the first time she charged him. It goes on from there. It looks like she only dated the guy for 3 weeks before the first incident,"

Tony was trying to process everything he was hearing. He could feel his blood boiling. This guy had managed to make Michelle so scared that she couldn't handle the thought of disappointing or upsetting someone. How could she possibly think that he would be angry at her for this? He thanked Michael and hung up. He slid down the wall to the floor. His phone rang. It was Danny, he didn't want to answer it but he had to, her brother had a right to know what was going on.

After explaining the situation and promising to call Danny as soon as she was out of theatre he calmed down. He was a few hours away and Tony told him not to worry he would look after her. Tony decided to ask Danny if he knew anything about Douglas.

"Danny do you know of a Douglas..."

"What has he done now? Isn't that asshole still in jail?"

"Yes he is. I've just heard about what happened. I am trying to get my head around how someone could do that to Michelle..."

"Well I tell you, they better never let me near the guy or I'll fucking teach him a lesson or 2 for messing with my sister."

"Danny does Michelle blame herself for what happened?"

"Yeah. I tried to get her to see someone about it but she wouldn't. She said she just wanted to put it behind her. He emotionally fucked with her so much that he got her to the point that she thought she deserved to be treated like that. She was scared to death of him. I had to force her to get the AVO because she was so scared he would go crazy and he did."

"You know she was just scared to tell me what had happened. She was sure I would be disappointed and upset with her once I found out..."

"Look Tony, I am very sorry for my behaviour last week in your office. Needless to say I had been drinking as was going through a lot. I don't want you to think that's me, or what I am normally about. My sister is the most important person to me. She has been there for me through everything. But this thing with Doug, it was just so hard to reach her on it. She knew it was so wrong and she hated him but I think he just got into her head, got her to the point of thinking that everything was her fault. That the reason why he did the things he did was because she was doing everything wrong. She was so strong to keep standing up to him and finally she won and he got put behind bars but I don't think she has ever been able to understand how or why it all happened. He made her question herself, he made her feel weak, which is just so wrong because she was so strong and brave to stand up to him and have the courage to press charges and have him put away."

They spoke for a few more minutes before Danny had to go. When Tony hung up he felt like he had been hit by a truck. Although he didn't think it possible, he fell even more in love with Michelle. She was the bravest woman. She had been through so much and in all this time had never complained about it, she had just tried to get on with her life. She had been so open and generous with him from the day they met. So patient with him as he questioned himself and was depressed over the damage Nina had caused. She had just been through her own personal hell and yet she had been there for Tony in every way possible, every single day since they had met.

He was determined he was going to be the one that proved to her how strong and amazing she was. He was going to be the one to make her realize she shouldn't shoulder any of the blame for what happened with Douglas. He would help her re-build her self confidence and trust. He sat dumbfounded, trying to get his head around what the person he loved so much had been through and how he could help her move forward from it in a positive way. He remained there until a nurse came and told him Michelle was out of recovery and being taken back to the room. He went straight there.

**Thanks for reading. Please let me know what you think and if you want me to continue with this story. Thanks so much!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks for the reviews, I really appreciate you all taking the time to read this and let me know what you think. I hope you like this chapter...**

Tony held Michelle's hand as she slowly came to. She had slept for quite a long time after the operation whilst the anaesthetic wore off. She now had a neat bandage over her wound and ice plate was covering the wound and some of her eye for the swelling. Finally she opened her eyes and kept them open. Even in her groggy state he could see the nervousness across her face.

He leaned over her and kissed her forehead. "Hey beautiful."

"Hey."

"Dad said everything went really smoothly and hopefully after some time you will barely even see any scar at all."

"That's great, I am so thankful to your Dad."

He stood up and then sat beside her on the bed. "I spoke to Michael sweetheart and then to Danny...who sends his love and we need to call him as soon as you are up to it."

Michelle had no idea what to say. She knew Tony knew everything now and she couldn't imagine what he must be thinking. She could feel her stomach doing flips.

HE gave her a look of admiration. "You know, I think every minute I am with you, the more I learn about you, the deeper I fall in love with you. I didn't even think that was possible. I thought just yesterday I loved you as much as it was possible and yet now I find myself in even deeper."

Although it was the hands down the nicest most amazing thing anyone had ever said to her she didn't quite know how to take it. "You don't have to say that Tony. The fact that you are even here is a massive surprise."

"Chelle, when we were buying the TV's you made the comment that you didn't really like living on your own, is that because of Douglas?"

"Yes."

He nodded his head as he spoke. "Baby, I'm struggling so hard to understand why on earth you said all those things to me before you went in for the surgery? Why you would think for a second that I could possibly be disappointed or angry with you over what happened?"

"I don't understand?"

"You don't understand what?"

"Why you wouldn't be all those things with me Tony."

He just looked at her in complete and utter shock, he was simply lost for words.

"Look Tony, you are a nice guy, a good guy so I know it is hard for you to understand all of this. I want more than anything in the world for things to work between us but the last thing I want to do is let you down or upset you more than I already have..."

"Baby, you haven't upset me..."

"What? Are you forgetting just the last few nights? How angry you have been at some of the things that have happened or the way I have handled things?"

He was still shaking his head in disbelief. "Are you even going to compare what happened between us to what happened with Douglas? Most of our arguments were my fault for the way I acted in the first place...let's make sure we have got that straight! And from what I have heard you didn't do anything wrong, this guy stalked you, and abused you just because you didn't want to be with him..."

"Well I had to have done something wrong or else he wouldn't have done it."

Michelle started to shift around in the bed. He could see she was so uncomfortable. She looked over at the machine and then down at how it was attached to her arm. She looked like she was about to start getting up. He put his hands on her shoulders. "You can't get up Chelle."

"I just want to get out of the bed. Do I need to be attached to..."

"Why so you can leave? Why do you want to get up?"

"Tony..."

"No CHelle...you would be trying to leave right now if you weren't attached to that machine. You don't need to run away from this anymore. So much make sense now...all these times I have to force you to not run..."

Michelle wasn't use to being confronted on all of this. Nobody but Danny really knew what she had been through, she hadn't ever allowed someone in as close as Tony was and it was hard, it was scary and she didn't know how to handle it.

"What are you scared of Chelle? You think things are going to get out of control and I will hurt you?"

"I never said that."

"That's what you are thinking though. You are afraid that if you get someone too angry, disappointed or mad then they are going to lose it with you. I'm right aren't I?"

She stared at him, unsure of what to say or do. She knew in her heart Tony would never hit her but he was right, she had gotten so use to having to run from Doug, that it had become her first line of defence. He was staring at her demanding an answer. He looked mad.

"RIGHT?" He raised his voice at her.

Her voice was weak and quiet. "I know you would never hurt me Tony, if that's what you are worried about."

"I am worried about you Michelle. I am worried that you are taking blame for this fucking asshole's behaviour. That he has got you so scared that you are worried about upsetting someone. That's why you tried to leave after I got mad about Nick, that's why you tried so hard to pretend you were ok after what happened with Sam, that's why you were worried about speaking up and telling me how much pain you were in! You think you need to take the blame for everything."

"I stood up to him you know. I got him put in jail didn't I?"

He leaned forward so that their faces were just a few inches apart. "Yes you did and I am so proud of you, that just proves how amazing you are. But you are scared to death of what is going to happen when he gets out and you are scared to death of ever being in that kind of situation again, that's why you do everything to look after everyone around you...but who are you letting look after you Chelle? Who the fuck has been looking after you?"

She was shocked. How the hell did he know all that?

He put his hand gently on her cheek and made her look him in the eyes. "Who has been looking after you?"

A tear rolled down her cheek. "How do you know all that?"

He lowered his voice. "Oh My God sweetheart. I know you. Don't you get it yet? I am so in love with you, I can see all of this. So much makes sense to me now that I know what happened to you."

"You must be so ashamed of me, so disappointed that I have been so weak..."

"STOP! Stop...don't you dare say another word like that." Her eyes lowered. "No, look at me Michelle, look at me."

She looked at him.

"Do you trust me?"

She nodded her head.

"No, tell me."

"I trust you Tony."

"Do you love me Michelle?"

"You know..."

"No, I want you to tell me...do you love me?"

"Yes, I love you."

"Tell me why you would think I would be disappointed in you?"

"Because I am a trained federal agent and I got the shit beaten out of me repeatedly. I'm supposed to help save other people's lives and look after them and yet I couldn't even defend myself."

"Sweetheart, just because you are an agent doesn't make you some kind of super hero with amazing powers. How many times have you seen me come out of the field with black eyes, bruises, wounds? Just because we are trained doesn't mean we can't get hurt. Do you think I am weak when I come back to the office with a broken bone or black eye?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Chelle, you are the bravest woman I have ever known. You are the most capable and incredible agent. The only person who is to blame in all of this, is that asshole. You never ever did anything to deserve it...I feel so sick just thinking about what you have been through and what he has done to you and it makes everything feel 100% worse hearing you blame yourself."

"Tony, people don't just treat someone like that without a reason. There has to be something about me..."

"No, No there doesn't! He is sick. He is mentally ill. I don't really care what his problem is, NOTHING gave him the right to treat you the way he did." He took her hands in his. "Have you ever gotten help with this baby?"

"I don't need to. I've gotten through it just fine. This wouldn't even be an issue now if the allergy thing didn't come up."

He sighed. He had so many things to say, so many things he wanted answers to but he just didn't even know where to begin. His whole body physically hurt thinking about what she had been through. "You haven't gotten through it fine Chelle. You thought I would leave you when I found out...how is that you handling it? You don't even understand how wrong that is!"

"Oh and I guess you would have it all figured out just perfect wouldn't you?"

He was surprised by her sarcastic tone but he understood where it was coming from. He was challenging her. He was making her confront this. "No I wouldn't Chelle but..."

She looked at him waiting for him to finish his sentence. He stood up and paced the room. "Remember when you started at CTU, just after everything had happened with Nina?"

"Yeah?"

"I was a mess Chelle. I was so disappointed with myself for not figuring out who Nina really was. Angry that I had been helping her, breaking rules, playing straight into her hands. I was depressed. I hated everything and everyone. And then I met you. Not only were you the most beautiful woman I had ever seen but you started to rebuild me...without even knowing you were doing it. You were the very first person to make me laugh again after all that...did you know that?"

She shook her head.

"The very first person Chelle that made me smile. Made me feel like it was worth getting through it all. I let you in though baby...I let you get to know me, I trusted you, I opened myself up to you and you helped heal me. And now I find out that at that same time you had just gone through all of that crap, as well as losing your Dad. Why didn't you open up to me?"

She sighed. She hadn't realised any of what he had just told her and it made her feel so special. "Tony, I met Doug a few weeks after I lost my Dad. There was nothing I liked about him other than for a couple minutes he made me fool myself into thinking I was ok. Within days I knew he was a jerk. I got caught up in something that I couldn't find my way out of. I should have had Dad there, he would have known what to do. The system failed me repeatedly...every time I went for help he would get set free again. Do you know how many times I had to go to hospital before they finally put him behind bars? When they did, I moved and transferred my job so I could try and start over again. When I met you, you made me feel safe. But the whole office was in chaos over what had just happened with Nina...it didn't exactly feel like the right time to bring up my crap. Especially when it was over, Doug was in jail."

This was really good, she was opening up to him. He was happy. He just needed her to keep going. What happened right at the start? Michael said it was only a couple weeks or something after you met him that you filed your first report."

"Do you have to stand over there?"

Tony had been pacing the room, trying to give her space but when she said that he raced to her side.

"It's hard for me to talk about this Tony. I feel all..all..."

"I know, I know...come here." He got up on the bed and wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close. "Keep talking sweetheart, you are doing great."

She clenched onto him as tight as she could. "He had been trying to sleep with me since we met and I had always said no. He got really pissed that night and started yelling at me and going crazy. So I told him it was over and I never wanted to see him again. He just lost it. I ran out the door but he caught up with me and we wrestled on the stairs. He pushed me down them. I got knocked out and I guess when he saw I was badly hurt he panicked and ran off. I made a report and from then on he would just keep showing up at my place, or be waiting for me outside work. I had to change my phone number a pile of times, I got the AVO but nothing worked until that very last time when he went crazy at me and some people on the street called the cops and they came and arrested him and got me to the hospital."

Tony had tears running down his cheeks. "How long did he get?"

He felt her grip on to him even tighter. "15 months but he is going to get out early for good behaviour."

There was silence for a moment as it sunk in with Tony that Doug would be getting out very very soon.

She pulled out of his grip and tried to stand up again but he pulled her down. "Do you get that Tony? He could be out any day now! I'm literally just waiting for the call that he is out and then I am screwed!"

He kissed head repeatedly as he spoke. "He won't be coming anywhere near you. I can promise you that. I'll look after you sweetheart. I'll kill him before he gets near you again."

"You don't understand how dangerous he is Tony. I don't want you to get hurt."

"Don't worry about me. Chelle, think of all the support we can get you with work. We can track this guy and know what he is up to. He won't know where you live..."

"Yes he does. I don't know how but he phoned my apartment 7 months ago. And my lawyer has already warned me that he knows as well..."

Tony squeezed her hand. "Then we get you out of there, simple as that." He was going to add that he had full intentions of her staying with him but then he thought he might be pushing his luck, or rushing her. He thought about it for a moment and then it just dropped out of his mouth. "You will stay with me. I'm sorry it is not the most romantic way of asking you to move in with me but I haven't wanted you to leave my side for a second since we got together, I have already been thinking about it and that way I know you are safe..."

"But Tony..."

"Look, you said so yourself, your other roommate left. You don't like living on your own. If you went anywhere else I would end up camping on your doorstep the whole time anyway because I don't want you on your own so...so...so you just have to!"

Michelle sat with her mouth open just staring at him. Half in shock, half trying to figure out if she had heard right. "You can't turn your life upside down just because you are worried about me..."

Tony had stood up again, he started pacing again. His expression said everything – he was on a mission to fix everything and he had fallen into his leader 'work' mode. He spoke very assertively. "You said you love me."

"I do."

"And I love you."

Michelle just kept still, watching him. She had never seen him act like this before. Sure he was bossy at work but never with her in such a personal way. "You said you didn't like living on your own."

She barely nodded, not that he was really taking notice anyway.

"If you think for one second I am letting that fucking prick anywhere near you than you are wrong."

Finally Michelle found her voice. It was weak and quiet but at least she spoke. "But moving in together is meant to be because it is an exciting happy thing that you want, not because you think it is the only way to fix a problem."

He put his hand up in the air to stop her. "Are you saying it wouldn't be exciting?"

"Well no, I'm not saying that..."

"I want you to live with me because you make me happy and I love you. I want to wake up next to you every day. I want all your crap in my bathroom!"

She smiled, she thought he had finished but he kept going, "And I know you would love living with me. I am very clean, I cook, I'll even put the toilet seat down...or up...or whatever it is meant to be." He walked back over to her and knelt down beside the bed and took her hand. "I don't want you sitting at home by yourself worried about Doug. I want you to feel safe. I want you to feel looked after and most importantly I want to see you smile. I can do all that if you will just bloody well move in with me!"

She was laughing now. He looked confused as he was still so caught up in that mind frame that he didn't even notice how he was sounding. "What are you laughing at?"

"Are you going to be this bossy all the time if I move in?"

It clicked and he got it. His whole face relaxed and he smiled. "Probably yes but you will learn to love it."

"Can we get a dog?"

"Will you move in?"

"Yes."

"Then yes we can get a dog."

They both just stopped for a moment and then started laughing. He pulled her into a hug. She whispered into his ear, "I think that will go down in history as one of the strangest ways for 2 people to decide to live together."

He pulled back and kissed her on the lips. He had a huge grin across his face. "I think I'll have to agree. But seriously sweetheart...do you really want to?"

"I'd love to Almeida."

He kissed her again. "God, I just want to get you out of here. This has been the most insane week of my life. All I want is you curled up in my arms in bed."

"I couldn't think of anything better honey."

**Please take a minute to review and let me know what you think and if you want me to continue with this story or not. Thanks so much!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you so much for your kind reviews...you guys rock! I've decided to go off track from season 2 to 3. I wanted to be able to take the story in a different direction...I hope you like it. This chapter would be R rated...not for kiddies:)**

Michelle ended up having to spend 5 days in hospital on the IV antibiotics before the infection number reduced down to 6 and she was able to move onto oral tablets. It had taken a little longer than Charlie had wanted but he wasn't taking any chances with Michelle. He stopped by her room a few times a day on his rounds and in between surgeries to see how she was doing. Tony was by her side every single time he went in. Even though they were going through such a traumatic time he hadn't seen his son so happy in such a long time. In fact he couldn't ever remember Tony behaving the way he did when he was around Michelle. He had a glow in his eyes, he was opening up and talking about his work and how he was feeling and he never hesitated to act lovingly with Michelle in front of anyone.

Michelle was going crazy being stuck in the hospital for so long. She was anxious to get out and finally have some time alone with Tony and begin rebuilding her life with him. She found that with so many visitors coming in all the time that she and Tony never really got to talk privately a lot. He had been so amazing to her. He barely left her side and when he did it was only to go home and shower and change. Just about every time he came back in he bought her flowers or chocolates. She was so surprised though that he hadn't pushed her to talk about everything more. Since she had agreed to move in with him he had calmed down. She wondered if he was waiting until it was just the 2 of them to bring it all back up again, either way she knew he wasn't going to let it all go. Sometimes he seemed a little quiet and she could tell he was deep in thought and when she asked him what was on his mind he told her 'nothing', or that he was just 'day dreaming' but she knew there was more to it than just that.

Tony wasn't ever just day dreaming, he was planning, thinking about what was going to happen next. He had gotten such a fright with the whole infection thing and felt so guilty that he had taken Michelle away before giving her time to recover that he was determined to make her recovery in hospital as calm as possible. He was almost going insane wanting to ask her more about what happened with Doug and how she was feeling but he didn't want to upset her or get her worked up at all. He knew that they had an awful lot to sort out and he spent most of the week working out the best way to get her moved over to his apartment and what he could do to help her through this. He hated that she blamed herself for what had happened, he hated that she had gone through it alone and he hated that she had to fear Douglas being released any day now.

* * *

Natalie took Michelle and Tony back to his apartment the night she was released. She only stayed a couple of minutes before leaving, she knew they were desperate for time alone.

Once the door was closed behind her Michelle turned to Tony and wrapped her arms around his waist. "I can't tell you how incredible you have been to me the last week baby. I could never have gotten through all that without you."

He kissed the top of her head. "How are you feeling sweetheart?"

"Good. I feel really good. My eye doesn't even really hurt anymore and I just feel so much better."

"I am so happy that is over. I am also so happy to finally have you all to myself again."

She kissed him gently on the lips, "I am so love with you Almeida. Do you understand how special you are?"

He just grinned. He loved hearing her say things like that. Every time she told him she loved him or anything like that he felt shivers run through his body.

"Almeida?"

"Huh? Sorry...just love hearing you say that..."

She started pushing him slowly so that she was backing him up against the wall.

He watched a cheeky little grin spread across her face as she walked him backwards. "Where are we going?" He asked playfully.

Once he was pinned against the wall she looked up at him. "No where." She ran her hands across the top of his jeans. She felt his whole body jolt at her touch.

"Chelle..."

"I've missed you Tony."

He kissed her and his breathing started to get heavier and heavier as he felt her undo his buckle. "It has been torture not being able to be with you all week sweetheart."

He went to reach for her pants but she stopped him. She took his hands in hers and pinned them up against the wall. "I want to show you a little appreciation for being so good to me all this time..."

His heart started to race and he felt like his legs were going weak. He loved that she was taking control of the situation. "Sweetheart...God I...my legs have already gone weak."

"You need to lie down?"

He shocked the hell out of her when he said yes and picked her up in his arms and carried her over to the couch. She squealed in surprise and he laughed. He put her down and she immediately took back the control and pushed him so he was sitting. She knelt down in front of him, lifted the bottom of his shirt and began kissing his stomach.

She tugged at his jeans and he helped her pull them down. She could see how nervous he became all of a sudden. His face went blush and other than his loud breathing he had gone quiet. He closed his eyes. "Look at me Tony...are you ok?"

He opened his eyes and nodded slightly. "I can't believe how nervous I am. I still can't believe I am with you and this is happening."

"Me either, it almost doesn't feel real." She wrapped her hand around him and watched the reaction across his face as he grunted and pushed his lower body up into her. She began to lower her head when she felt his hands on her, "Wait.."

She stopped and looked up at him. He leaned over to her and pulled at her top. "Can we take this off?"

She smiled and pulled her top over her head. She was so conscious of how closely he was watching her. He made her feel sexy and gave her confidence in what she was doing just in the way he looked at her. She almost laughed as he nodded his head when she removed her bra. His eyes widened and he reached out to touch her. She let him hold her in his hands and explore her breasts for a couple of minutes before she grabbed his hands and pushed him back into the couch, "My turn..."

Tony couldn't take his eyes off her. She was making him feel things he had never felt before. She took her time with him and although his heart was racing and he had trouble controlling his breathing he was trying to make the moment last as long as possible. It still didn't feel real to be in this position with Michelle. His mind kept flashing back to images of her through the last year – little smiles she had given him, times she had laughed at his jokes or when she had been the one to calm him down when he was completely stressed out. All of those moments where he had been falling for her more and more through the year until now where they were as close as ever and she was making him feel like the luckiest man in the world.

He had seen so many new sides to her over the last 10 days. He had seen her at her most vulnerable, at her bravest, frightened, happy, nervous and every single moment had just confirmed in his mind that she was the one for him. The way her touch simply sent his whole body to a whole new place was beyond him, he never knew it was possible to feel this good. Too feel so nervous on one hand and yet so comfortable and willing to open himself to her completely. He didn't think there was anything he couldn't tell her and she made him feel safe in a way that no one had ever been able to do. She had seen him in every light and yet had only showed him love and passion back. She loved him for who he was and he felt that, knew that and that as the best feeling in the whole world.

As she bought him to a climax, he held her head, mumbled and groaned and then reached down and pulled her body up into his and wrapped his arms around her as tightly as possible. He had never felt closer to someone and it made him feel so emotional he was surprised. She was curled up on his lap with her head against his chest and he stroked the side of her head and kissed it. "You are unbelievable...that was incredible..."

"I can't get enough of you Almeida."

* * *

Tony slammed the door closed behind them. They had just gotten home from the memorial service held for their lost colleagues. Michelle had only been out of hospital for a few days and today had been a full day at the cemetery. It had been so distressing being confronted with how many people they had lost and it had made the whole thing seem so real. A part of Tony had been blocking it all out, he was sure Michelle had been doing the same but today they had to face it.

To make matters worse, Tony hated having to feel that way in public. He felt like so many people were watching him and Michelle. It felt like everyone knew by now that they were together but it still seemed of massive interest to everyone to see what they were like as a couple. He felt self-conscious every time he put his arm around her or took her hand in his. He wasn't prepared to not stay close to Michelle for work's sake – they needed each other, he just wished they could blend in like any other couple.

He hadn't cried at the service. He wasn't the type to be able to break down in front of everyone else. Watching the look of despair on Michelle's face all day had felt gut wrenching. He would have done anything in the world to make her pain go away but he just didn't know how to, all he knew how to do was be there for her and hold her. It didn't feel like enough and he felt like he was angry with himself for it.

As the door slammed behind them he looked at Michelle, "Sorry."

She shook her head and put her arms around his waist, "don't be sorry, nothing to be sorry for."

They stood holding each other for a long time. Gradually he could feel himself letting go and he knew he was going to cry. He pulled out of the hug and started to walk to the living room.

Michelle chased after him, "Baby, its ok. Come here."

He turned around and studied her. He wanted to be strong for her but at this moment he wasn't and she made him feel safe enough to break down in front of. "I just don't want you to see...I mean...I just..." He couldn't get his words out before his voice started to choke up and tears streamed down his face. Michelle wrapped her arms around him as tight as she could.

Michelle hated seeing Tony so sad but was glad he was finally having a cry about it all. She had been able to shed tears at the service but Tony hadn't. She pulled him down onto the sofa and had him lay with his head on her lap. She stroked his head, told him how much she loved him and how much she was there for him. She just felt grateful that Tony felt like he could be like this with her. They stayed like that for over an hour before Tony sat up and pulled her into a hug, "Thank you, thank you for holding me...for being here...I couldn't get through this without you."

"Me either baby, you have been my rock. I love you so much Tony."

He kissed her gently, "I love you too." He decided that it was time for them to start working some things out. "Sweetheart, I know you have only just gotten out of the hospital really but I want us to make a plan to get you moved in here as soon as possible."

As Michelle went to respond her cell rang. She looked to see who it was and saw that it was her lawyer, her heart sank. "Tony its Luke, my lawyer."

Tony could not believe the timing. He watched as Michelle literally went pale.

"Oh my god, I can't deal with this now. I don't want to hear it, I can't..."

Tony grabbed the phone. "Want me to speak to him?"

She nodded her head. He flipped the phone open and took the call. Michelle didn't feel strong enough to handle this. She knew Luke would be calling to say that Doug was being released. She had been dreading this day for so long. All of the fear started to set back in and she felt really anxious. Tony took her hand in his but she didn't even want to hear the conversation so she pulled her hand out of his grasp and left the room. She closed herself in his bedroom and sat on the bed.

Doug wasn't her only concern at the moment. She was days late getting her period and knew she needed to tell Tony. She knew that it could easily be late because of the stress she had been under lately but she was usually very regular and this was the first time she had been late in a long time. She had bought a pregnancy test at the drug store the night before but hadn't had the courage to take it or even discuss it with Tony yet.

It felt like her world was closing in on her again. She had been so happy with Tony, he was everything and more she could possibly ask for but how would he react if she was pregnant? How was she supposed to deal with Doug being out and this? She didn't want Tony in and danger and she was scared to death of putting him in harm's way just by being with her.

Tony was upset that Michelle had pulled out of his grip but also understood that she didn't want to hear the conversation he was having. He hated thinking about her sitting alone in his room whilst he took the call but if she didn't want to hear it, he wasn't going to force her. Doug was being released in 48 hours and Luke warned Tony that he was sure Doug had an idea of where Michelle lived. They spoke for a few minutes and Tony explained to Luke that Michelle would be moving in with him. He gave Luke his phone number and asked that he call him once Doug had been released or for any other details on the matter.

Once he was done with the call he made his way to his bedroom where he found Michelle sitting on his bed all crunched up. She looked so small and vulnerable. She was clearly crying. He sat next to her and put his arms around her.

"Is he out Tony?"

Tony rubbed her back. "He will be in 48 hours sweetheart...I am so sorry."

She shook her head. "I knew it was coming. I just wasn't ready for it."

"I don't think you could ever be ready for this baby but you are not alone anymore. I will look after you."

She raised her voice at him. "I can't do this. I can't put you in danger Tony. As soon as he finds out I am with you he is going to go crazy..."

"He won't be able to touch us baby. Don't talk like that, don't say that."

"No, I'm serious. You have been through too much Tony; I'm not going to put you through this as well."

He raised his voice as well. "So what are you saying? You want to give up on us...just because of this asshole?"

She really started crying. Even the thought of not being with Tony made her feel ill but she was scared.

When she didn't answer him he got even more frustrated. "You said you loved me Michelle!"

"I do love you Tony."

"Then how the hell could you even think about giving up on us? We agreed you would move in here, you promised me you would!"

"I just don't think you know what you are getting into here Tony. I am offering you an out..."

"I don't want a fucking out!"

"What the hell do you want from me? You want me to pretend that we are going to be fine?"

They were shouting now. "I want you to stop fucking running from this prick. I want you to face this with me."

"It's not just Doug..." It fell out of her mouth before she could stop it. She knew she had to tell Tony that she was late getting her period but she was so scared of his reaction.

"What the fuck? What the hell does that mean?"

Michelle started pacing the room. "I've been wanting to tell you the last couple days but I just haven't known how to..."

Tony's heart was racing. What the hell was going on? He thought they had been going so well. "Tell me what?"

She stared at the floor, unable to say it.

He raised his voice again and walked over to her. "Tell me what? Have you changed your feelings for me? Is that what this is about?"

"NO! God no!" She lowered her eyes and her voice, "but it might make you change the way you feel..."

He grabbed her and pushed them up against the wall so there was barely an inch between them. "Look at me."

She raised her head and looked him in the eyes. "I'm late Tony ok. I'm late."

He was totally confused. "Late for what?"

Tears streamed down her face, he wiped them away with his thumbs and held her cheeks.

"I'm late getting my period."

This stopped him dead in his tracks. It was the last thing in the world he had expected to hear her say. He stayed staring at her.

When Michelle realised Tony had no idea what to say she became extremely nervous and started babbling. "I'm on the pill. I told you that. It could just be from the stress of everything...that sometimes happens, it could be nothing, I'm sorry..."

"Hey, hey, what are you apologizing for?"

"I don't know, you look completely freaked out. Oh my god I don't want you to be mad..."

He pushed his body even tighter against hers. He had butterflies in his stomach. Good ones. "How could I be mad at you?" As more tears made their way down her cheeks he kissed them. "You actually think this would change how I feel about you for the worse?"

"I don't know! What am I meant to think? We have just gotten together, it's not like we have even talked about kids or..."

"You are meant to know how much I love you. How much I want a life with you." He kissed her on the lips passionately. "I've got butterflies Chelle, good butterflies."

Their lips were still basically touching and she could feel his breath on her face. She was so taken aback by his response. "Really?"

His voice was strong and assertive. "Don't you get it yet? You are everything to me. I need you. I've dreamed about having kids with you. You scare the hell out of me Chelle...I don't want to keep feeling like I might lose you..."

"Don't you think I'm scared of losing you? I've been scared to death of even bringing it up in case I upset you."

He ran his hands up and down her body. "Do you want a baby? My baby?"

She nodded her head.

"No tell me. Say it. If you are...if we are...is that something you would have ever have wanted with me?"

"Of course it is Tony. Having your child would be the most incredible thing I could ever dream of."

He kissed her passionately and she returned his strength. He was a little caught off guard but within moments he taken control of the moment. She was panting for breath but he couldn't stop himself so he kissed her neck and shoulders as his hands continued to run all over her body. Within seconds everything had become so heated neither one of them could believe it but this was how things had been between them since the day they got together. They could never seem to just stop at one kiss, it always became fuelled with passion and quickly lead to more. Michelle was anxious though, she needed to know what was going on, so she pulled back. "You know I want you but I need to know...I need to find out..."

He groped her breasts for a second longer before pulling his hand down and putting it in hers, "ok, ok...let's go to the drug store."

"We don't need to. I've already bought a test. I got it last night when we were at the store."

He took her hand and dragged her into the bathroom. "Where is it? What do we do? How does this work?"

Michelle grabbed the box from her toiletries bag. "I pee on the stick and then we wait for a few minutes!"

He lovingly pushed her towards the toilet. "Then pee woman."

She closed the door behind her and Tony stood on the other side, unable to move. Thinking about how much things might be about to change. Tony's heart was racing. He knew to everyone else it might seem so sudden if Michelle was pregnant but to him he couldn't think of anything more amazing or perfect. Just in the short time that the topic had been on the table he had become so excited that he had to keep telling himself to calm down, that it might be negative and he didn't want to be disappointed.

She couldn't believe this was happening. Was this real? She was overwhelmed by Tony's apparent enthusiasm. Her mind was racing faster than she could keep up. When she was done she opened the door and placed the test on the counter. Tony stood staring at it. He put his arm around her, "How long? What am I looking for?"

"2 lines..."

She hadn't even finished the sentence when 2 lines began to form on the test. She was pregnant. She stared at it in shock. Tony looked at her, down at the test and then back at her, "You are?"

She nodded her head.

They stared at one another for a minute then Tony pulled another test out of the bag. "Do it again, another one...just to make sure."

She didn't say a word, just took the test and went back into the toilet. She could hear him breathing heavily on the other side of the door. When she re-appeared he pulled her into his arms again. She placed the 2nd test down on the counter and again they both stared at it.

Again within a minute 2 lines appeared. Michelle turned to Tony. "I'm pregnant Tony."

The biggest smile Michelle had ever seen on Tony's face appeared. "You are going to have my baby?"

She nodded her head, "Yes."

"Oh my god, I love you. Come here." He started kissing her roughly on the mouth.

Michelle was in a blur. She couldn't believe this was happening. She had never felt so drawn to a person in all her life as she did to Tony right now. She kissed him even harder and ran her hands all over his chest and up through his hair. She barely let her lips part from his as she asked him, "you really happy? You sure?"

He picked her up in his arms and carried her over to the bed. "I'm so happy. Are you happy? Is this what you want?"

"Yes...I can't believe it. I can't believe it but yes. Yes."

They both laughed before falling back into the passionate kiss. He started kissing her neck and ran his hand down her over her breasts. She mumbled into his ear, "don't we need to talk or..."

He took her hand and pinned it above her head. "Talk later...I need you."

She needed him just as much. She fumbled with the buckle on his pants but before she could get his pants off he had slipped his hand under her skirt and panties. She gasped as his hand began to explore her. He was watching her face, mesmerized by her reaction to his touch. As she withered underneath him he was getting more and more turned on. He loved this more than anything and he loved that she was allowing him to lead the way. He went to withdraw his hand so that he could remove her clothes, she clamped her hand down on his, "don't stop...don't..."

That literally made him feel like he could lose it right then and there. "I'm not baby, just want you out of these clothes."

Her head slammed back against the pillow and she closed her eyes and he slid down her body taking her underwear and skirt with him. She felt his hands push her legs apart and then land on her waist. She groaned, "Oh my God Almeida..."

She could feel him growl at her as he used his mouth on her. He got her so worked up that he had a hard time keeping her still. "Almeida, I want you inside me."

Tony looked up at her. As much as he had wanted to make her climax before, he was so riled up he couldn't wait any longer to be so close to her. He gave her a cheeky grin as he slid off the bed and removed his pants. He lay back on top of her and she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in as close as possible. As they found their rhythm Michelle ran her fingernails up and down his back making him arch his head back and groan her name loudly.

They finally climaxed together. It took them both a long time to catch their breaths and calm down. Tony was sweating and as Michelle looked up into his eyes she was sure she fell even deeper in love with him, if that was possible. Her eyes watered. "I love you, I am so in love with you Tony." She kissed his sweaty forehead and ran her hands through his damp hair.

"I can't believe you are mine sweetheart. I love you with all my heart." He propped himself up on his elbows. "I can't believe I am going to be a father."

"You know, I would think it was from the very first time we were together..."

His eyes lit up and a huge smile spread across his face. "Wow...I knew it was the most perfect time for us, how special is that?"

"You are going to be an amazing Dad Tony."

"You my love are going to be the most incredible mum in this world. The most sexy, amazing mum...so so perfect."

**Once again, thanks for reading. I hope you liked this chapter. Please let me know what you think and if I should keep continuing with the story. Thanks!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you for the reviews, you guys rock! Please keep letting me know what you think:)**

Tony ran his hand down her cheek, "You must be starving baby...want me to go pick us up something to eat?"

"I'm easy baby, whatever you want."

"You are eating for 2 now" he grinned, "you have to keep your strength up! I'm going to pop down the street and grab us something."

Michelle watched as Tony got dressed again, his eyes were glowing and nothing was going to wipe the smile off his face. She started to pull on her trackies. He lent down and kissed her on the nose, "I'll be back in 20 minutes sweetheart."

"OK."

As he went to walk out the door he turned back to her, "Baby, when I get back, we really need to sit down and talk."

"Are you ok Tony?"

"Honey, you have made me the happiest man in the world right now but there is so much we have to sort out. Things we have been putting off talking about and dealing with all week."

Michelle nodded her head. "I know, ok we will talk." She gave him a smile as he left but inside she could feel her heart starting to race. She knew he was going to want to talk about Doug and even the thought of him made her skin crawl.

Just a few minutes later there was a knock on Tony's front door. Michelle at first thought maybe he had forgotten his keys but when she opened the door she was shocked to see a young woman all dressed up standing there.

"Where is Tony?"

Michelle was taken aback by the woman's rudeness. "He has popped out for a minute..."

"And you would be?"

Michelle was completely confused. Who the hell was this woman and why was she being so rude to her. "Michelle, Tony's girlfriend. And you?"

The woman laughed. "Girlfriend? Since when?"

Michelle was pissed now. "Look, do you have a message for Tony or not?"

The woman scanned Michelle up and down and rolled her eyes. Then she leant against the doorway, "I hope you are not thinking this is something serious you've got with Tony because..."

Michelle sighed loudly, she couldn't believe this. "Because what?"

"Well let's just say Tony and I...we have...well that's our business, but don't think you are going to ruin what I have with him. Tell him Lisa gives her love and I'll drop by another time." With that she sneered at Michelle before turning around and walking off.

Michelle slammed the door shut. What the hell was going on? Her heart sank. She sat down on the couch. She had no idea what to make of what had just happened. All she knew was that 5 minutes ago she was so happy and secure with Tony and now she had no idea what the hell to think. She didn't move, not even when she heard Tony come home calling her name.

Tony called Michelle's name a couple times before she finally answered that she was in the living room. He walked in to find her staring at the wall. He could tell just by her voice something was wrong. "What's up baby?"

"Who is Lisa?"

"Lisa?"

Michelle stood up, turned and stared at Tony. Her voice was raised. "Yes Lisa! Who is Lisa?"

Tony looked completely stunned and caught off guard. He was surprised to see Michelle was so worked up. "Lisa lives in this complex...what has happened?"

"She stopped by to see you."

Tony sighed. Lisa had made it more than clear to Tony for a long time she liked him but he had never even thought twice about her. He never even gave her the time of day. "What has got you so upset? What did she say?"

"Enough! She basically warned me that I wasn't going to ruin what you two have going on. She sends her love and she will be back..."

Tony's heart skipped a beat. "That fucking bitch. She said that?"

Michelle pushed past Tony and headed into the kitchen. She was so angry. "So much for you not being with another woman since we met Tony! Was all that crap? Why wouldn't..."

He didn't let her finish before he rushed to her and grabbed her by the arm. "What you actually believe her?"

"Why would someone woman be dropping by your apartment at this time of night and give me that much attitude when I said I was your girlfriend?"

Tony didn't let go of her arm and he raised his voice back at her. "I don't know, I really don't know. I know she has liked me Michelle but I have never even given her a second of my time. I have never even given her a second thought...she was just trying to cause trouble. I don't know." He was panicking.

Michelle had tears running down her cheeks. She believed Tony but she felt really shaken up. She felt so incredibly emotional and vulnerable right now and this was the last thing in the world she wanted to be thinking about.

Tony couldn't believe Lisa had done this. Watching tears stream down Michelle's face made his blood boil. "Come with me Michelle and I will make her tell you to her face that whatever she said is complete and utter crap? I mean it Michelle, NOTHING has ever happened with that bitch. She is a slut and she was just causing trouble." He pulled on her arm heading towards the door.

Michelle pulled back. "No, I don't want to see her again."

"Well I don't want you worrying about this. You have enough on your plate. Let me put her back in her place and show you that I have nothing to hide."

"No, I believe you Tony...it's ok. It was just a shock."

Tony's voice was still raised, he was so angry. "I am so sorry sweetheart. So sorry, that was the last thing in the world you needed to have happen. I promise you though, everything she said is total bullshit."

"You've never kissed her or anything?"

Tony was so angry he slammed his hand against the wall making Michelle jump. She got such a fright she moved across the room. Her voice was quiet and weak. "Sorry...sorry, don't get mad."

"I am fucking mad! She has got you doubting me. With everything that is going on, that is the worst thing that could happen, is for you to doubt me."

Tony was so worked up he hadn't realised yet how shaken up Michelle had become seeing him so angry. "Sorry, I believe you. I don't doubt you. I am sorry. So sorry. Please don't be mad."

Tony stopped and looked over at Michelle. He could see fear written all across her face and it made him feel sick as it dawned on him she was now more upset at his behaviour than what had happened. He slowly started to make his way over to her. "Baby, I didn't mean to scare you. I'm just so angry that she would make you feel that way. I am sorry I hit the wall."

"I don't want you to be angry with me."

He shook his head. "I'm not angry with you. And you shouldn't be the one apologising here." He studied her face as seemed to be trying to take everything in. He was angry at himself for losing it so quickly. As he stepped forward, she took a step back. "I'm not Doug Chelle."

Her eyes said it all. He knew that he should have been talking to Michelle about how she felt about Doug all last week. He knew how delicate the situation was but he wasn't quite sure how to handle it. He felt sick seeing her edge away from him. He just wanted to wrap her up in his arms.

"I never said you were."

"Baby, look at you, you are scared to death of making me mad...when it's you that should be mad. I've just frightened you, I know I have."

"I know you would never hurt me Tony. I know that. I just..."

His head dropped. "I feel like an idiot. I don't want you to feel this way sweetheart. I am so sorry. Please let me hold you."

Michelle stayed staring. She wanted to hug Tony, she wanted it more than anything but something was keeping her back. "This is why I never wanted anyone to know about Doug. I don't want you always having to feel like you can't get upset or angry because you are worried I am going to be frightened. It's not your problem and it's not your fault I feel this way."

He hated that she hadn't come to him. "I had to know about Doug honey. There was never going to be a way around that. I want you to start feeling safe again." He edged closer to her. "I want you out of your place tomorrow and moved in here. I want us to start building our life together...you will see baby, everything is going to be ok. I promise you."

She started crying heavily. Then she surprised him by running into his arms. "You don't know that though. You don't know what this guy is like. What if he finds out where you live? What if..."

He held her as tightly as possible and stroked her hair. "I do know that. I know that I will do everything in this world to make sure this guy never hurts you. I will use the whole of CTU to make sure you are safe. I love you sweetheart. We are going to have a baby together...this is a new start for both of us."

"You make it all sound so easy." She mumbled.

"I just need you to trust me Michelle."

She pulled back. "This isn't about trust Tony. I trust you with my life but you don't understand..."

He threw his hands up in the air and yelled. "What don't I understand? Huh?"

She matched his temper. "That I could fuck this up. That the same thing could happen all over again, instead this time I have to allow you to get hurt..."

"ALLOW?"

His word hung in the air as they both stared at each other.

"ALLOW? You still think that you could have done something different don't you? You are still blaming yourself..."

"Of course I could have done something different. There must be a million ways I could have handled the whole thing better."

"Like what Michelle? Name one thing?"

She had tears streaming down her face but she was still standing strong against Tony. In her mind she still felt like she had been weak. "Everything...anything!"

He was shaking his head. He lowered his voice a little. "I knew we should have talked about this more, I haven't gotten through to you at all."

Michelle was still yelling at Tony. "I don't know what else you want from me. I don't get what it is that you are expecting me to say."

Tony sat on the counter. There was silence for a few moments whilst he thought. Finally he lifted his head. "You are still so scared aren't you baby?"

She was nodding her head but she wasn't moving. She finally spoke, he could barely hear her. "I'm so scared Tony. I'm scared he will hurt you, I am scared he will hurt me and now...and now we have the baby..."

He slid off the counter and wrapped his arms around her. "You are allowed to be scared sweetheart but what I don't want, is you shouldering the blame or trying to protect me from anything. We will get through this together."

"Aren't you frightened Tony?"

He kissed the top of her head. "I am just worried about you sweetheart. We will be prepared for this guy. All I want is to see you feeling better about everything. All you should be worrying about is looking after yourself..." He touched her stomach very gently, "And our baby. That's it."

She put her hand over his on her stomach and they looked at each other and smiled. They both still couldn't believe what was happening between them. He kissed her, "Do you have any idea how amazing our future is going to be together baby?"

She smiled at him. "I think I do. I love you Tony."

**Just to let you know I am going O/S for a few weeks and so I might not be able to post as much but hopefully I'll be able to keep writing lots. Please let me know if you like this story still and want me to continue. Thanks so much!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry for the delay between chapters, I was o/s for a few weeks. Thank you so much for your reviews they make me want to keep continuing the story. Let me know if there is something you want to see happen.**

**I don't own 24 etc... Also as usual this chapter is not for kids - should be for adults eyes only:)**

Tony's apartment was crowded. His parents, Jess plus 2 of his friends Riley and Paul were all over helping to move Michelle into his apartment. Tony was tired. He had had a very restless sleep thinking about everything that was going on. He was still furious over what Lisa had done, he was anxious over Doug and how Michelle was feeling about everything. He had so much running through his head at the moment that it felt like his head was spinning.

Michelle had been quiet all morning. He had asked her a few times if she was ok but she had continued to tell him that she was fine. She had told him she was a little anxious about telling his family that she was pregnant, which they had agreed they would do that night after Riley and Paul had left. He was actually really excited about that – he knew his parents were going to be thrilled. His mom was desperate for grandchildren and he knew that they had already taken Michelle into their hearts as family.

Tony wanted to ask Michelle to marry him. He couldn't stop thinking about it. He just wanted to do it properly and he couldn't even think of when he was going to have a chance to even get out and go ring shopping. As they had been packing up Michelle's bathroom, he had taken a couple rings she had in a box and measured their size. It also gave him a good idea seeing everything she had of what type of styles she liked. He could now picture in his mind the ring he wanted, finding it was going to be another matter.

His phone rang. It was Michelle's lawyer. He just wanted to give Tony a head's up that Doug would be out by 10am the following morning. As he hung up the phone Michelle came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Was that Luke Tony?"

He spun around but they kept their arms around each other. "Yes. He wanted us to know that Doug will be released at 10 tomorrow morning."

She nodded her head. "ok."

He rubbed his arms up and down her back soothingly, "Hey, it's going to be ok remember. You are safe now sweetheart."

"Thanks to you and your family and friends. Everyone has been so kind to give up work today to make sure we get me moved in here by tonight. I don't know what I would be doing if it wasn't for you. We just have to make sure that there is no trace left at my place at all of me or where I have gone."

He kissed her forehead. "Baby, all everyone wants is for you to be ok, they would do anything for you. And I want you to know I have hired cleaners to go into your place tonight and get that sorted. I've also spoken to work and they have gone through every possible public file or record of you and had it sealed...down to your video store memberships. Jackson is organizing you a new cell phone and number today that will be completely private. He is going to drop it off later. As soon as we get it, you need to give only your closest friends your new number and then we will cancel your current number."

She smiled with watery eyes. "Wow, you have thought of everything. I didn't even think of my phone..."

"I know it sucks baby that you have to literally change everything but it is the safest way and it gives us the best chance at him not being able to have any way of tracking you down."

Michelle wrapped her arms around Tony's neck and pulled him down so she could kiss him on the lips. "I'll do anything Tony, whatever you think I need to do, I'll do. Thank you. Thank you for looking after me." She kissed him passionately, taking him by surprise. As usual it only took a second for her to have Tony completely turned on. He opened one eye to make sure the door to the bedroom was still closed before running his hands down her back and then grabbing her bottom. She moaned into his mouth at his touch driving him even crazier. She pushed her body into his and began to sway her hips from side to side and then up and down.

He barely broke the kiss as he whispered, "You can't do this to me baby...I'll never be able to stop."

She grinded herself into him even harder. "One of these days we are going to have to learn how to kiss and be able to leave it at just that." She was smiling and then began to kiss his neck roughly.

Tony loved the cheekiness in her smile. He couldn't help but push himself back into her even harder. "Yeah maybe...but I'm not there yet."

She could feel how hard he was and she loved it. She loved the way the tone of his voice changed when he spoke to her like that. "Have I told you just how incredibly sexy you are Almeida?" She ran her hand across his groin.

His whole body jerked at her touch. "Ohh Fuck...baby I mean it...you are going to make me lose it. I have no control."

His voice sounded desperate. She laughed. She pulled out of his grip, went to the door and locked it and then turned back to him.

His stuttered his words and they came out very nervous. "What are you doing? You know there is a whole apartment full of people on the other side of that door..."

She dropped to her knees in front of him and then looked up. "Yeah but how often do you have no control? I can't just let this opportunity slip by..." She undid his pants and pulled them and his boxers down just enough. She giggled to herself as she could hear Tony trying to form a sentence and say something but nothing but grunts and the word 'shit' was making its way out of his mouth. She felt his hands land on the sides of her head and hold her, she loved that.

Tony was struggling to not make any noise but it was hard. Michelle managed to get him into a state that he literally felt like he had no control over himself in. She knew exactly how to make him feel as good as possible. How she knew when to go faster and then slower or when to be hard and when to be gentle at all the right times was beyond him. He felt like she had some kind of super power or something.

After a few minutes someone tried to open the door and then knocked when they realized it was locked. It was Riley, "Tony are you in there? Your landline has just rang out a couple times!"

Michelle didn't even flinch or anything, she just kept going. Tony's heart was pounding so hard he thought it was going to jump out of his chest. He cleared his throat and then yelled back as calmly as he could, "Yeah, thanks mate. We are just getting changed and stuff, I'll be out in a minute...just let it go to the machine."

"Will do!" With that Riley walked away.

Tony pushed some hair across her forehead, held her tight and whispered, "Holy shit baby..."

When he heard her mumble back 'I can't help myself, I love this...' he just about lost it. It made him smile – if she thought she loved this, if only she knew just how much he loved this! He watched her with thoughts about how much his life had changed in the last few weeks. She had managed to make him see and feel a whole new side to life that he never even knew existed. With her, he felt the extreme end of all emotions. With the good it was the most amazing feelings he had ever experienced. With the bad things that had happened it was scary how much he was having trouble controlling his emotions and it surprised him that it could make him feel physically ill. He was extremely scared of Doug's release but he didn't want Michelle to know that. As much as he knew he would do everything in the world he could to protect her, that didn't mean she was 100% safe. As all these thoughts flooded his mind he was still watching her intently and it made the moment feel even more intense.

She looked up and caught eye contact with him for a brief moment. No one had ever looked at Tony the way she was right this moment. He could see the love in her eyes for him. It pushed him over the edge and he exploded. He couldn't take his eyes off her even though his whole body was shaking and making him feel like he could just collapse in a heap on the floor.

Michelle stayed in the moment with him for a couple of minutes before she started to stand back up. He helped her and then pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. "That was incredible, you are incredible sweetheart."

"I'm so in love with you Tony." She pulled him even tighter and he knew that she was feeling just as emotional as him. Whenever they were intimate, they both felt a huge need to stay close to the other one for awhile afterwards. He smothered her neck with kisses. "I love you baby...you are my everything."

As he pulled back out of the hug he could see her eyes were a little watery. "Are you ok? Are you going to cry?"

She smiled and laughed a little. "I'm fine, they are good tears." She looked at him a moment longer and then slapped her hands together. "Right, we had better get back out there before everyone starts asking questions!"

"Well, actually we both have to change clothes...for what reason I am not sure of yet but that's what I told Riley we were doing."

"Let's just pull on some sweats so it looks like we just wanted to be more comfortable and not have to worry about getting dirty...or some crap like that."

They both laughed and then rushed to change and head back out to everyone else. They smiled at each other when after a couple of minutes it became obvious that nobody had even really noticed they had been missing for that time. They got stuck back into moving boxes into different rooms and unpacking.

* * *

Paul and Tony were in the study unpacking books and putting them onto the bookshelves chatting away. Michelle had been sorting through things in the bedroom with Jess and Natalie. She went to ask Paul and Tony if they were getting hungry for some dinner - as she rounded the corner she knocked a pile of papers on the ground that she had to get down on her knees to gather up. As she was doing this she could hear Paul and Tony talking.

Paul and Tony had been talking a little bit about Doug and everything else that had been going on.

"Thanks again Paul for dropping work today to help me out."

"Not a problem Almeida. I think Michelle is the best thing that has ever happened to you and I am so glad she is moving in with you, I just wish you didn't have this asshole to be worrying about."

Tony sighed. "Tell me about it. I've done everything I can think of to makes sure there is no trail of Michelle for Doug to pick up on but the closer it gets to him getting out the more I am starting to freak out."

Michelle was a little surprised to hear Tony say that because to her he had been acting like he wasn't worried.

Paul wished he had an answer for his friend but he didn't. "What are you going to do if he does find out she is living here? I mean, how much can your work help out?"

"We can keep an eye on him and he is still under court orders not to come near Michelle or he will be back in jail but that didn't seem to scare him before. It is scaring the hell out of me."

"How is Michelle coping?"

"She is scared to death, I can tell. She tries really hard to not let it seem like he has gotten to her but he has. I know she still blames herself for so much of what happened and I fucking hate that. I need to do everything I can think of to make her see sense on all this."

"You just to keep talking to her man. Just like you are freaking out, she needs to know how you feel as well."

Tony shook his head. "Paul, trust me, the last thing she needs to hear is how worried about everything I am."

"Is it just Doug, or is something else going on Tony? Your Dad mentioned something earlier about how much crap you guys have been through the last few weeks."

"It's more than Doug, it's everything. This prick Jeff was harassing her and I caught him grabbing her by the arm so hard it left a huge bruise. She doesn't want me to do anything about it because of everything else we are dealing with but I just can't let it go. I've given the guy an official warning. Last night this woman who lives in the building, Lisa came over when I wasn't here and told Michelle that she and I have a thing going on..."

"What?"

"I know. It is just the last kind of hassle we need but what am I going to do when she starts seeing Michelle here all the time?"

Michelle had heard enough. She didn't want to keep standing there eves dropping on their conversation. She cleared her throat and stepped inside the doorway. They both spun around.

"Are you guy's hungry? I was going to order in food, everyone else is starving."

Tony could tell straight away by her tone and the look in her eye she had heard what they had been talking about. "Baby...how long have you been there?"

"Long enough."

Paul went to walk out of the room. "Umm I'll just give you guys some privacy."

Michelle stopped him. "No no, it's ok Paul. It was me that walked in on you guys trying to have a chat. I just need to know what you guys want to eat?"

Paul looked over at Tony who by now was looking very nervous. "Umm yeah, I could eat but I'll have whatever everyone else is getting. Thanks Michelle."

Michelle thanked him for being here and helping and then turned back to Tony. "What about you?"

"We need to talk about this Chelle. How much did you hear?"

"Sounds like I need to be more worried about what I might not have heard just as much as what I did hear."

Tony felt like a shmuck. Michelle was smart and he knew she wasn't going to give him an exact point of when she had walked in. "It wasn't like that Chelle, it's not like we were having a bitch behind your back..."

"I know Tony. You have every right to talk to your friends. I'm glad you have close enough friends you can talk to, especially if you're not going to be honest and tell me how your feeling."

Tony loudly pushed the books he was holding onto the case. "I can be honest with you sweetheart. Is this about Chapelle?"

Michelle's heart began to race as she wondered how much she had actually missed. What on earth had Tony been telling Paul about Chapelle? "Ummm no, not Chappelle...but good to know there is another subject you can't discuss with me." She turned to Paul, "What is Tony worried I won't cope at work or something? Or has Chapelle been in Tony's ear again trying to break us up?"

Paul had no idea he was in dangerous territory, he thought he was helping Tony out with his answer. "No Michelle, nothing like that. It was just that Nina..."

Tony jumped in straight away and spoke over Paul, "No, no. Not what you think Michelle..."

Michelle's head dropped. She couldn't believe they had been talking about Nina, it felt like she was never going to escape that shadow. "Nina? What about Nina? Have I done something else like her for you all to be worried about?"

Tony's voice rose. "Hell no. I was just telling Paul about the hard time Chapelle gave me. Absolutely nothing you didn't already know about..."

"Then why was that out of everything the first thing you asked me about? Clearly there is something with Chappelle." She was going to continue but then she stopped. She looked at Tony who looked like he was about to explode. She threw her hands up in the air. "You know what, I don't want to know, I don't want to hear it. I hate that woman. What I care about is that you are scared to death about things Tony and you don't feel like you can tell me. You push me so hard to tell you everything. It doesn't matter if I am crying and begging you, you will make me tell you if you think it is important and you need to know. Yet you clearly can't do the same back."

Tony felt ashamed. He knew how bad this must make Michelle feel but deep in his heart he just didn't want to worry her or upset her, he didn't feel like he couldn't tell Michelle anything, it was just some subjects at the moment he wanted to protect her from. "Like what baby?"

"Like Lisa. Like how you feel about Jeff and most importantly that you are freaked out about Doug."

They all stood silent for a moment as her words sank in and Tony tried to figure out how to handle the situation. He was surprised when Michelle started crying. He wanted to go hold her so much.

"Why would you let me move in Tony if you are scared of Doug? You know I'd understand, I'm scared. But I told you I didn't want to put you in a situation where you had to be worried about being safe, why didn't you just tell me then that you were?"

By this point everyone in the apartment could hear them arguing.

Tony tried to take Michelle's hand but she pulled away. His voice raised even more in frustration. "Michelle I'm not worried about my safety. I'm not scared about me. I am scared of Doug finding out where you are and hurting you. I'm worried about being able to protect you from him."

"But you have done all this stuff to ensure he won't. You have covered every base possible..."

"I hope I have baby. But can't you understand that we could be living with fucking security guards and I'd still worry about you. Nothing is going to make me not worry about you..."

"Why can't you talk to me about that? Why do you have to act like everything is going to be fine? Why can't you tell me gave Jeff a warning?"

"Because I don't want any more worried about everything than you already are! Fuck Michelle, you have been to hell and back lately, I'm trying to help you get through this, and I'm trying to make you feel safe. And I didn't tell you about Jeff because I wanted to just put it behind us and I didn't want it to be an issue when we went back to work."

"But I told you not to worry about that."

"Well I am worried about that! He needed to be put in his place."

"Yeah but you didn't have to give him an official warning."

"Why are you sticking up for him?"

Michelle yelled at Tony. "I'm not sticking up for him."

"Yes you are! Why do you care what happens to him?"

"You already told him to back off at the time and he would have. I just didn't want it turning into a bigger issue than it was."

Tony was yelling now as well. He was pretty pissed off that he knew everyone could hear what they were talking about but there wasn't exactly anywhere for them to go. "Well I wasn't taking any chances with it. I don't want another man touching you, cracking onto you or coming near you like that. He had no right to do what he did and what if I hadn't been there huh? He could have really fucking hurt you or taken advantage of you. Holy shit Michelle, why can't you ever think of those things? What would you have done if I hadn't caught him?"

"I don't know..."

"Exactly. You don't know. Well I'm not prepared to stand by while assholes try to hurt you, touch you, talk about you inappropriately...I thought you would have figured that out by now."

Michelle stopped and looked around at everyone. She felt like an idiot. She felt like she had been so naive about things and that to everyone she must look so stupid. Here she had this amazing guy that would do anything to protect her and make sure she was ok and she just didn't seem to know how to accept that or handle it. She wasn't used to having anyone looking after her. "I'm sorry."

She completely took Tony by surprise. He hadn't expected her to say that at all. He was all ready for her to be angry back at him that she took him off guard. "What?"

"I said I'm sorry."

He rubbed his face and took a step closer to her. "What are you apologizing for?"

"For everything. For not getting it. For not understanding. You have just been trying to look after me and make sure I am ok. I'm not use to it. But I'm not totally useless you know, I can handle knowing the truth about things. If something is scaring you then I should be allowed to try and look after you back. I should be given the chance to try and make you feel better. I can make you feel good you know Tony. I know you inside and out and if you just trusted that I could handle things and that I could be there for you just like you are for me then you would see that I can at least do that. I can at least be a part of making you feel a bit better about some things."

She turned around and headed straight for his bedroom hoping to God that no one was in there so she could on her own for a minute. She kept her head down and as soon as she saw the room was empty she went and lay on the bed.

Tony followed her. He didn't call her name or tell her to stop, he was quite happy to let her go into a room with no one in it so he could then talk to her with a little more privacy. He apologized to everyone and told them they would be out soon. He opened the door and once he was inside he locked it behind him.

As soon as he was out of sight of everyone else he felt tears well up in his eyes and all of his defences come straight down. If only Michelle could see that, or know that – she was the only one in the world that when he knew it was just the 2 of them he was able to be completely himself. He went straight to the bed and lay next to her. He slid his hand around her stomach and gently rolled her so she was on her back and then he basically picked himself up and lay back down on top of her. He propped himself up with his elbows. He did it some to keep her in the one place and not able to move around or away from him and some because he needed to feel that close to her.

Neither one of them had said a word yet but they were looking into each other's tear stained eyes. He leant down and kissed her on the mouth. "I love you Michelle. I love you so much."

This made her cry even more. "I love you Tony."

"You know, I can cry in front of you, I can completely be myself with you. There is no one else on this planet that I can do that with. You make me the happiest man in the world. Every time I have looked at you since our first kiss I get butterflies in my stomach and this really warm feeling all over my body and I think about how lucky I am that you love me, that you want to be with me.

I can trust you to make me feel better because you do all the time. I'm sorry I didn't tell you that stuff. It wasn't because I think you can't help me or make me feel better, I wasn't even looking at it like that. All I was thinking was that I want you to feel better about everything. That I want you to finally feel safe and looked after. I thought if I told you that I was nervous about Doug that it would make you feel less safe and more worried about it all. I wish I could wave this magic wand and make you feel like you were going to be ok, that you didn't have to worry about all this stuff but I can't, all I can do is try and make you feel safe. Does that make sense?"

Michelle ran her hand through Tony's hair. "Yeah it does and you are so beautiful for thinking that way baby but do you think you can let me try and do the same for you? I'll feel better knowing we are sticking together on all this. If you are nervous, then tell me so we can work on it together?"

"I hate the thought of burdening you though sometimes Chelle. Do you know how anxious I get sometimes over the smallest, most stupid stuff?"

She smiled. "I do Almeida...remember I have worked with you very closely for awhile now. I know things really get to you but that's all a part of who I fell in love with and maybe...just maybe if you start sharing the load a little you will find that things don't bother you so much."

He smiled back. Seeing her smile, made him smile. Hearing her say that made him feel special. "Ok, I will. And I'm going to start now. You know all this stuff with Jeff and Lisa?"

"Yeah?"

"That is driving me insane. I'm angry at Jeff just because I know he likes you. I mean, I hate him for treating you the way he did but I also know some of me is so worked up about it all because I feel like I have to worry about him flirting with you, or trying to...wanting you to leave..."

Michelle giggled a little as he stumbled over his words. "Tony are you worried that I might feel something for him?"

He nodded his head. "Am I being jealous and stupid?"

She pulled him down and kissed him. "Not stupid honey...never stupid. You have my heart Tony, no one else is ever going to get it now. If it helps you to know, I think Jeff is completely unattractive in every way possible but that's not the point. I am so in love with you I would never even think about anyone else like that."

Tony laughed. "That helps a lot!"

"And Lisa?"

"I'm so angry at what she said to you. I'm nervous you are going to bump into each other now that you are living here and she is either going to give you a hard time or continue to feed you a pile of bullshit."

"I've thought about that as well. But next time I see her if she says anything then I'll have no problem putting her back into her place and telling her how happy we are together. And if you see her then you can tell her where to go!"

"I just hope we run into her together in the hallway and I can start kissing you right in her face!"

They both laughed. Then Michelle rested her hand on the side of his cheek. "We have so much going on honey it is crazy. We have had the most insane last few weeks and I think we are both very sensitive at the moment. On top of that really emotional, especially now that we know we are having a baby. I think we have to keep that in mind and keep doing everything we can to make sure each other is ok and coping."

"I couldn't agree more. Wow Jess and my folks must really be getting use to listening to us go crazy over each other!"

Michelle felt like she went red even just thinking about it. "It is so embarrassing. They must think I'm nuts!"

"They love you and they get it. They know how much shit is going on. And I can't wait to tell them our news because I know they are going to be so happy and excited."

They kissed. Within seconds Tony started running his hands all up her body and intensifying the kiss. As his hands made their way to her breasts, Michelle stopped him. "Sweetheart, we have to go back out there now. They are all waiting for us, not to mention everyone was starving like an hour ago now."

He groaned playfully. "So what, are you officially declaring this one of those moments that I have to leave a kiss at a kiss?"

"Yes Almeida, I am. However, if you're good, I'll make it up to you very generously when everybody leaves."

He peeled himself off her and then when he was standing he extended his hand and helped her up off the bed. "Trust me, I am going to hold you to that!"

**I hope you liked this chapter. Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Thanks so much for the reviews guys, you all rock! Hope you like this chapter...**

Michelle was surprised when she made her way back out of the bedroom and walked into the kitchen where Natalie was. Natalie pulled her straight into a big hug. At first Natalie didn't say anything, she just held Michelle closely. She rubbed Michelle's back, "How you feeling sweetie?"

Michelle was so grateful to Natalie. She had never really had the love of a mother and it had been a long time since she had been given comfort from a parental type figure. It made her realise how much she missed it, how much she missed getting a hug from her Dad. "Better, thanks...I'm so sorry you had to see that. You must think I'm nuts."

Natalie shook her head. "Chelle, you and Tony are going through more at the moment then most people could ever imagine facing in an entire lifetime. I can't tell you how much I respect the way you are handling everything."

"You're not upset to see us getting so worked up?"

"No, because I think it is only natural that you are both feeling the way you are. And 90% of the time you are laughing and making each other so happy...I mean we haven't seen Tony like this in his entire life! Besides Chelle, it is not like you both are fighting...you are getting worked up over how much you care for each other. You are finding your way as a couple to support each other through everything that is going on. That is really special."

"I can't tell you how good it makes me feel to hear that. I love Tony so much. I love all you guys so much...you have been amazing to me through all this."

Natalie hugged her again. "We love you very much Michelle. We think the world of you and we love seeing Tony with you. I think you are the best thing that has ever happened to him."

Michelle was so touched it made her feel a little teary. She had expected to feel a little embarrassed and yet now she felt completely at ease. Now she felt very excited to tell Tony's parents their news. "Thank you, thank you so much."

They both stayed in the kitchen chatting for a little while longer. Tony had much the same reception in the hall with his Dad and Riley. The ordered in some food and when it arrived they all sat in the lounge room together eating. It was fun just sitting around talking and laughing with their family and friends. It helped to distract Tony and Michelle from thinking about Doug and just concentrate on enjoying their company and time with everyone.

By 8pm, everything was pretty much unpacked and sorted out. The cleaners were at Michelle's apartment now cleaning it all out and Jackson had dropped over a new phone for Michelle. Paul and Riley announced that they had better make tracks. Tony and Michelle said they would like to take them out for dinner and drinks one night very soon to thank them for their help. They agreed to talk in the next day or so and make plans. Just after they had said their goodbye's Charlie stood up, "Well, I'm sure you 2 want to enjoy your first real night of living together alone, so we should be on our way as well."

Tony literally jumped up, he did it in such a way that it caught Jess, Natalie, Charlie and Michelle's attention straight away and they all giggled a little. "No wait, you can't go!"

"Is everything alright son?" Charlie wasn't sure now if he should be concerned or not.

Tony took a really deep breath of air. "Yeah, no, I mean yes, everything is alright...in fact its good...it's great! It's just we have something to tell you guys."

Jess was laughing at her brother who suddenly seemed to have become very flustered. Tony threw one of the little couch pillows at her. "Oi!"

Jess was still laughing as she joked, "Well you are all over the place bro, and your voice has even gone high pitched!"

This made Michelle laugh as well. Tony put his hands on his hips, "HAS NOT!"

Jess laughed even harder as she watched her brother try to keep it together, "Jeez you'd think you were about to announce Michelle was pregnant or something the way your acting. So what is it...I'm definitely intrigued now?"

Michelle and Tony stood there dumbfounded by Jess. Neither one of them knew what to say and they both just ended up standing there with their mouths hanging open and wide eyed. Natalie looked at them both and it clicked, she threw hands up in the air, "Oh My God! That's it, isn't it?"

Michelle and Tony still just stood there.

Jess laughed, "I was only joking Mom!" but then when she looked back at Tony and Michelle and saw the way they were just standing there speechless she realised she had been right. "Are you serious?"

Michelle began to nod her head. Then Tony put his arm around Michelle's shoulders. He stood up straight and cleared his throat like he was collecting himself, "YES, that's exactly what I was going to announce." The biggest smile spread across his face and his voice became giddish, "Michelle is going to have my baby!"

There was silence for a second whilst his words sunk in and then all of a sudden all 3 of them charged at Tony and Michelle to hug them and congratulate them. Natalie and Jess were literally bouncing off the walls and Charlie had the proudest look on his face. The hugging and kissing went on for a long time before they all calmed down a little bit.

Now Natalie's voice was all high pitched and funny. "When did you find out? Wow, it must be very early days..."

Michelle cringed in the back of her mind as she thought about the fact that his whole family were now thinking about her and Tony having sex and how soon after they got together this had happened. Her voice was a lot quieter than everyone else's, "Umm we just found out last night, I mean I haven't even been to the doctors or anything yet."

Charlie still had a big goofy smile. "But are you sure?"

Tony looked very proud as he put his arm back around Michelle and announced. "Yes positive...I made Michelle take 2 tests!"

This made everyone laugh a little. Then Tony looked at Michelle adoringly and then back at his family, "Can you believe this? I'm going to be a Dad? Michelle...MICHELLE is having MY baby!"

Michelle looked at Tony and she didn't think she had ever felt happier in her entire life. Just seeing him so proud and excited and the way he looked at her was just beautiful and amazing. She took his hand and squeezed it, "you are going to make an incredible father Tony."

Everyone agreed with her. Both Natalie and Charlie hugged them both again. Charlie Kept his hand on Tony's shoulder, "You are both going to make perfect parents. We are so happy for you!"

They decided to crack open a bottle of champagne and celebrate. Michelle barely took one sip. Tony laughed, "You can have a few sips sweetheart..."

Michelle rubbed her stomach, "I know but I want to do everything exactly right...we are going to have the healthiest little baby."

He kissed her, "And if it looks anything like you, the most beautiful one as well."

It made Natalie choke up seeing her son so happy. Jess laughed at her mom crying, "Wow mum, you are going to be a grandmother...time to start calling you granny!"

They all laughed but you could tell Natalie was off in her own little world day dreaming about it all. "Wow, my first grandchild." She looked at them both, "Thank you!"

Michelle was so relieved and excited all at the same time by his family's reaction. It couldn't have possibly gone better. "I might need a little help from you...I don't know anything about having children."

They could all hear the nervousness in Michelle's voice. Natalie looked at her reassuringly, "You are going to make a wonderful mother. I'll do anything in the world to help you out."

Tony knew that Michelle was extra nervous because she hadn't grown up with a mother, therefore doubted herself a little because of it. He squeezed her hand, "I don't know anything either sweetheart, but we are going to buy every book you can and we can go to all the different classes they offer..."

Michelle looked up at him a little surprised, "You would come to all of them with me?"

"Are you kidding me? I'm not missing a thing! I've also decided whatever weird food you start craving, I'm going to eat it too."

Michelle smiled at him. "Thank you baby. I kind of looking forward to all of that."

Jess, Charlie and Natalie ended up staying for another hour chatting about everything. Everybody was just so thrilled. Finally they said their goodbye's and agreed to talk tomorrow, after Michelle and Tony had been to the doctors.

The entire time since they had made the announcement to his family, Tony had been thinking about work in the back of his mind. He didn't want to bring it up with everyone else around because he knew it was going to be a pretty serious conversation between the 2 of them. He felt really strongly about Michelle not doing any field work. Truth be told he didn't even want he going back to work full stop but he knew that had to be her decision. As he closed the door Michelle wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him, "That couldn't have gone better with your parents Tony, they were so excited!"

He kissed her forehead, "I knew they would be. I think Mum has probably been starting to think I was never going to have children so she would be over the moon."

The headed back for the couch. Michelle noticed that Charlie's wallet was sitting on the coffee table. "Honey, your dad left his wallet here, we should drop it off - he is going to need it in the morning."

"OK, we will, first though I just want to see how you're going?"

As she sat down, Michelle let Tony in on how she was feeling, "I just feel like there is so much to learn and think about...and do. It's kinda overwhelming."

Tony made sure he was looking her in the eyes as he spoke so that he could gauge her reaction. "We also need to talk about work baby."

Michelle smiled. "Would you believe I haven't even thought about that? I've been so caught up in the whole 'learning to be a mum' thing, that work or anything else hasn't even come into it."

He took her hand. "Well...what is your initial gut reaction then?"

"That there is an awful lot to consider! Like when do we tell work?"

"Chelle, I was thinking more along the lines of the fact that at the moment you can be called out into the field. I've always hated you in the field baby but now, now I can't even imagine you being put into that kind of danger."

"But what about you Tony? You go into the field a lot more than I ever do. I've rarely ever been called into the field..."

"But I'm not carrying our child sweetheart."

"Yes but you are the father of our child."

That stopped Tony. He hadn't even thought of himself in the equation in that way, he had only been thinking about Michelle being hurt. She was right though and the thought of leaving Michelle alone in this world with his child was horrible.

At Tony's silence Michelle just kept going, "Are you saying you don't want me to do field work?"

He nodded his head. "Yes."

Michelle knew it was the right decision and she wasn't going to argue with it. On one hand it was hard to imagine closing the door on a chapter of her life she had worked so hard for but on the other hand it felt like the most natural, right thing to do.

"And I want you to go on mat leave really early Chelle. The job is way too stressful. I don't want you to have to worry about work."

"I can't even imagine a life without CTU anymore, I feel like I have lived there the past year. But I'll do whatever you want me to Tony."

He was really surprised. He had thought this might turn into a really touchy subject.

"What about you though Tony? What are you going to do?"

He pulled her into his arms. "You were right before. I don't want something happening to me that leaves you and our baby alone. I'll talk to Chapelle and make sure for now on we are both are not considered field agents."

"Will it threaten your position?"

"Maybe...probably but I don't care sweetheart. This is what I have wanted for so long. That place has ruled my life for long enough. Nothing else is more important than you and our bubs."

"I love you Tony, you are amazing, you know that?"

He kissed her. "No one is as amazing as you."

"Should we drop the wallet back to your Dad's before it gets too late?"

Tony peeled himself off her growling at the same time. "Ok, but THEN I get you back here, in our home, all to myself!"

"Yes boss!" She saluted him making them both laugh.

* * *

As they pulled up at his parents place they were surprised to find it with all the lights off.

"That makes no sense, they for sure would have made it home by now but there is no way they would be in bed yet, we were only a few minutes behind them and it's not that late."

Michelle took Tony's hand. "Maybe they stopped at the store or something."

Tony looked a little relieved when she said that. "Well I have a key, so we will just put it on the bench with a note. Who knows how long they might be."

They walked up to the door. Tony was about to knock when he heard a loud crash come from the back of the house. He turned to Michelle and quietly rushed them back down the entrance. "Baby, wait in the car..."

"Tony, you are not going in there alone. I can help you."

"Chelle we are not even armed. No way, I couldn't handle anything happening to you. It could be nothing anyways."

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, he pulled it out to see it was his mum. He walked with Michelle away from the house and answered it. He spoke very quietly. "Mum where are you?"

"That's why I just called. As we went to pull up before, Jess noticed Sam's truck parked a couple houses away. So we called the police and just kept driving."

"That little punk! I'll go fucking sort him out."

"Just leave it to the police, they are probably there by now anyway."

"No they are not. We are at your house because Dad left his wallet and we were dropping it off but I can hear noise inside your house."

Tony could hear his mum start to tell him to just get out of there but he had become so angry that Sam was at his family home that he wasn't hearing anything she was saying. He told her it would be fine and hung up. He turned to Michelle, "It's that little shit Sam. I'm going in there; the cops are already on their way. Please, please don't argue with me Chelle, just stay out in the car."

"But Tony..."

He put his arms around her. "I can handle him and the police will be here any second anyway. For me? Stay in the car?

Michelle sighed but did as Tony asked. She climbed into the car. She felt sick watching him walk back up into the house and go through the front door. She sat there a little pissed off that she couldn't be in there helping Tony. She was after all a fully trained agent, just because she had become his girlfriend didn't make her less capable. On the other hand she loved that he cared so much and put her safety above everything. She sat for a moment thinking when then was a loud bang on the side of the window. It gave her a huge fright and she turned to see Sam standing right outside her window with a gun at her head.

"Unlock the fucking door now."

She didn't move. She looked around to see if she could see Tony or the police but there was no one. When she looked back at Sam she could see the impatience in his eyes. Just like that he raised the gun a little above her head and fired. It smashed the glass and before she even knew what was happening he reached inside, unlocked the car and then got in the back seat. He held the gun at her head. "Drive."

"Sam don't do this. I'm a federal agent, do you know how much prison time you will get for harming or kidnapping a federal agent?"

"I didn't ask for you to talk, I asked you to drive. NOW!"

Michelle took a huge breath and started the car. She revved the engine over and over as loud as she could to make as much noise as possible. She felt the tip of the gun press into her neck, "Stop playing fucking games and drive."

She had no choice, she had to drive.

Tony hadn't found Sam in the house, although it was clear he had been there because the place was trashed. When he heard the sound of the car engine rev like that he ran from the back of the house out the front. He made it out in time to see his car with Michelle and someone in the back seat flying down the road. His legs went weak underneath him and he had to catch himself on a car next to him to keep from falling over. He tried calling Michelle's phone but of course it just went rang until it hit voice mail. He called the police again and reported that an agent had been taken, he was told they would be there any second.

He called his mum back. "He has taken Chelle, it's all my fault, I made her sit in the car by herself and wait for me and now he has her."

Natalie was having trouble hearing every word Tony said because his voice was so broken. She told him they would be there in a minute. Tony slumped to the ground and called CTU.

He informed them of the situation and they said they would send a team out immediately.

* * *

By the time his family arrived, Tony had kicked into complete agent mode. The thought of losing Michelle was unbearable and the only way he knew how to get through the situation was to do his job the best he could to find her. Once the police and a tactical team had arrived Tony took over and led the situation.

Jess wanted to go and tell Tony how sorry she was but he was surrounded by people and barking orders left right and centre. This was the first time his family had ever seen him working like this and they saw a side of Tony they never had before. It blew them away. Charlie especially couldn't believe how amazing his son was. He watched as he pulled up satellite feeds, arranged road blocks, instructed each person what to do and at the same time was walking the situation through with someone he guessed from the office on a head set. Together they were trying to find his car on the satellite that was their best chance right now to find Michelle quickly.

His family approached him when they thought it looked like a good time and asked what they could do. Tony told Jess she needed to speak with the people from his office and give them as much information about Sam as possible. He didn't mean to but he spoke to her as though she wasn't his sister, as though she was just another person on the scene. Although Jess wasn't use to it, she knew he was in work mode and she wanted Michelle found just as much as anyone did so she went to the agent he instructed and answered their questions. She felt so sick to her stomach that Michelle was in trouble again because of Sam. She blamed herself for everything that was happening.

Charlie and Natalie were instructed to go through their home and figure out if anything was missing or if any clues had been left behind.

An hour had passed now since Michelle had been taken and Tony knew that with ever minute that passed, the situation only became worse and worse. Seeing as all he could tell CTU was that the car had turned left at the end of his parents street, finding anything on satellite was starting to seem impossible.

Chapelle arrived on the scene. "Tony, I'll take it from here."

"No Ryan, this is Michelle. I'm not going anywhere."

"I'm not asking you to leave, I just think you are emotionally too close to the situation to be making all the calls. At least let me work with you."

"Fine."

His parents came out. His mother was crying. "Tony, I can't see that anything has been taken, the place is just a mess. I am so, so sorry."

Tony raised his voice at his mother. "It's not your fault! It's mine. I made her sit in the car on her own. This wouldn't have happened if I hadn't made her wait for me. This is my fucking fault...no one else's."

Natalie went to embrace Tony but he pulled back. "No Mum..."

"It is not your fault son. This is Sam. And we will find her..."

He kicked the side of one of the tactical cars. "Bullshit, I should have known better." He stepped back and looked at his family all looking at him with so much desperation in their eyes. "What have I done? I can't lose her? Everything was finally so perfect and now..."

Charlie stepped forward. "Don't think that way Tony. You have the best of the best out looking for Michelle and she is trained and capable of defending herself. You have told me a million times how strong and amazing she is...just think of that."

Tony's eyes began to water, "And our baby..." His head was spinning so fast he couldn't keep up.

He felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket. He flicked it open to see it was Michelle. He answered, "Chelle, sweetheart?"

He could just hear muffling noises and mumbles. It only took him a second to realise she was calling to try and give Tony a chance to trace the call. Her phone must have been in her pocket because he could barely make out any words. He signalled for Chapelle to come over and they got a trace set up. Tony was glued to the phone whilst they waited for the trace to be set up. He occasionally heard Sam swearing, like he was barking orders but he never once heard Michelle's voice.

It wasn't long before they pinned down where the call was being made from. They were still driving in the car and were now about 45 minutes away. Tony jumped into the tact teams and they started to make their way to the area. His heart was racing. He was so thankful that Michelle knew enough to do things like this. As they were driving, CTU informed him they now had a live feed of the car and could follow it. He felt a flash of relief but it was gone as quick as it came. Nothing was going to give him relief until he had her back safely in his arms. They were driving twice the speed limit in an effort to catch up with Sam and Michelle.

20 minutes out, Tony learned that Sam and Michelle had gone into a tunnel but not come out the other side. Michelle's phone switched off at the same time so they also lost the trace. The most likely scenario was that Sam was trying to get another vehicle. Whilst it gave them a little more time to catch up with them, if Sam got them into another car it was going to make everything a lot harder again. He watched the feed on the screen. Minutes and minutes went past and nothing. CTU tried to track any car that had 2 or more people in it that came out of the tunnel but that was becoming impossible to keep up with the high volume of cars going in and out. He reported back to Chapelle and they began working on different scenarios.

* * *

Sam had pulled Michelle out of the car but instead of trying to get another one he forced her out of one of the side exits on foot. He then led her down a dark ditch, across a small field over to a housing area. He pushed her up against an alley wall. "I want Jess, call them and tell them I'll let you go if they hand over Jess."

Michelle shook her head, "not going to happen."

He pushed his body roughly into hers pinning her against the wall. "You are not in a position to say no. If you don't do as I say then I'll kill you and go straight after Jess anyway." He pulled a phone out his pocket and shoved it into her hand. "Call."

Michelle dialled Tony's number. He picked up on the first ring. "Chelle?"

"It's me."

"Oh My God baby are you alright? Where are you?"

"Look Tony, Sam wants to do a trade for Jess but I won't do it. You can't do it."

"Chelle it gives us a shot of catching him..."

"No Tony."

Sam grabbed the phone off Michelle. "Tony, if you want to see Michelle again you will bring Jess to me."

"What do you want with Jess? What assurances do I have that you won't hurt either of them?"

Sam looked Michelle up and down in the most disgusting way it made her stomach turn. "You don't. But I can tell you that you have a mighty fine lady here and the longer I have to wait the harder it is going to be for me to control myself..."

"You son of a bitch. You lay one hand on her and I'll kill you."

"You have to catch me first...and Tony...it will be a lot more than just a hand."

Tony felt vomit rise in his throat. "Where do you want to do the exchange?"

Sam gave him instructions for a street corner and he wanted it done in 30 minutes. Then he hung up.

Tony had no intention on handing Jess over but he wanted Sam to think he might because at this point it was their only lead to catching him. Chapelle who had heard the entire thing began to organize all the details. He ordered for Tony's family to be taken into CTU where they would be safe. He then started to work with Tony on their plan of action.

**Thanks for reading. Please review and let me know what you think and if I should keep going or not. Thanks so much!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Not sure if many people are still reading this story or not. This was a realy hard chapter to write. I hope you like it. FOR ADULTS**

2 minutes later Sam called Tony back and told him that if he didn't see Jess with his own eyes then he would shoot Michelle in the head. Tony tried to reason with him, tried to make him see sense that he could get out of this situation before it got any worse but it was like Sam had literally flipped and gone nuts.

Chapelle told Tony he thought their best chance was that they were going to have to bring Jess out onto the scene as well. Tony knew it was their only option. He ordered more back-up and had the car taking his family to CTU turn around and start heading out to the meeting place.

He spoke with his parents on the phone and explained the situation to them. He made it clear from the start they had absolutely no intention of Sam getting near Jess, but they needed him to be able to see her. As much as it pained Charlie he knew if there was a better option than CTU would have come up with it. He asked Tony exactly what they were going to do but Tony told him they were still sorting it out and he would explain everything once they got there. Tony asked how Jess was doing. Charlie said she was determined to do anything to help Michelle.

* * *

Michelle was in more trouble than anyone could imagine. Sam had called a friend and somehow got this guy to come meet them. His name was Ash and he was completely and utterly off his head on drugs. Sam told him they had an opportunity to make some money and Ash jumped on board straight away. He asked Sam if he had a hit on him and Michelle watched as Sam gave Ash a couple tablets and then took a couple himself. He pushed Michelle up against the wall and told her that she was going to go to the meeting place and get Jess to come back to him.

"How is that ever going to work Sam? The whole fucking police force is going to be there, you really think they are going to just let hand Jess over?"

Sam laughed. "Well, it better be as easy as that or I promise you one thing Michelle. If you don't do this, I will shoot Jess. Then I will shoot her fucking parents. Then I will shoot Tony...but I'll only shoot him in the leg so he is in pain but alive for long enough for me to make him watch as I kill you and then I will finish him off."

"You and your little stoner friend think you can take on the whole of the counter terrorist unit?"

"Counter what?"

"Sam, Tony and I are federal agents with the Counter Terrorist Unit. That means we have the most qualified and specially trained agents in the country– these are not just regular cops. They will take you and your friend out before you have even drawn your gun."

He slapped her across the face. He clearly became very panicked. He was too off his head to see any reason though and seemed intent on following through with this. She continued to try and reason with him but he kept yelling at her to shut up and hitting her.

He called Tony back. "If I see one other person beside you bringing your sister, the deal is off. I'm not alone Tony...if we see 1 cop or agent, Michelle is dead. Do you get that?"

"Yeah, I get it."

Tony punched the seat of the car. He could tell by the way Sam spoke that he was on drugs and was desperate. Dealing with someone like Sam who was in this state was almost impossible; he was too irrational and likely to make a stupid move as soon as he panicked. His family had arrived and they were gathered a few blocks away in a vehicle. All he could do was be open and honest about what Sam wanted to happen. He had tears running down his cheeks as he looked at Jess. She seemed calm, way too calm.

"Jess, if you can't do this, I understand..."

"Tony are you kidding me? Of course I am doing it. It is because of me that we are in this situation to begin with. I'll never be able to live with myself if something happens to Michelle. I'm doing it and I am fine. Just tell me what to do."

Natalie was a mess and Charlie was trying to soothe her. They put a tracker in the form of a watch on Jess. After a very heated discussion with Chapelle and everyone, it was agreed that Tony and Jess would go to the place alone. They team would keep a distance and out of sight. They only had a minute left before they were supposed to be there. Charlie and Natalie hugged Jess over and over telling her how much they loved her. She continued to stay calm and tell them she would be fine. That she would be able to calm Sam down.

Then she and Tony made the walk to the place. Tony put his arm around his little sister. He kissed the side of her head. "I love you Jess. This isn't your fault, Sam has just snapped. You have to know that it is not your fault. I am going to do everything I can to make sure you are ok. I love you."

"I love you Tony. I'm sorry this is happening to Michelle and you. Once I talk to Sam though, I am sure I can calm him down."

"I don't want you going to Sam Jess. Hopefully we have a chance to take him out...I'm just not sure what his move is going to be but I can't let you go to him."

* * *

Sam stayed back, lying down in a car around the corner so it looked empty. Ash was the one that escorted Michelle to a certain point and then he was going to have her go the rest of the way by herself. He kept the gun on her. They knew if they got seen by anyone they would be dead so their only hope in all of this was to convince Michelle if she didn't do as they asked, they would kill Tony and his entire family.

Before they had gotten there, Sam had slammed Michelle's body up against the car and then held her cheeks with such force so she would look at him. "Look me in the eye bitch. I am telling you, if Jess doesn't walk back to Ashley then I will kill you all."

As Michelle rounded the corner to make the short walk on her own to Tony and Jess her mind was racing. She believed without a doubt that Sam meant what he said and would kill at least her, Jess and Tony. But how could she ever live with herself if she handed Jess over and he hurt her...and she knew he would. She could see Tony and Jess standing together with their arms wrapped around each other. She had to stay so strong if she was going to get them through this.

As soon as they were standing a few feet from each other, Tony pulled Michelle into his arms with Jess. "I love you, I love you. Where is he?"

Michelle tried to keep her voice extremely calm. "Tony, you have to listen to me. Sam is not alone and he has completely lost it. I am going to have to take Jess back with me."

"No fucking way. Firstly, he said a trade – as if I am going to let you both go. I will not let Jess go, I never intended on doing the trade, I just wanted to try and get him here...you know protocol Chelle."

"I do Tony, I know exactly what you guys are trying to do but you have to trust me..."

Jess spoke up. "Tony, I'll go to Sam – he won't hurt me straight away, I'll be able to talk to him and try and calm him down. Michelle you are not coming though. You are back with Tony and you have to stay with him."

Michelle was shaking her head. "I won't do it. He said he will kill your parents, Jess, me and YOU Tony if I don't do what he says."

Tony felt his legs go weak and vomit rise in his throat. "He can't get to mum and Dad, they are locked down with CTU..."

Michelle raised her voice at Tony, "You don't get it. He will Kill you Tony. If he doesn't get what he wants he will kill you. I'm not even arguing with you about this. I am not going to lose you. And if I go with Jess at least there is a chance I can look after her or get us out. I assume you have put tracking on Jess?"

Tony was speechless. He felt like his whole life was about to be over. He heard Jess begging Michelle to just stay with Tony and she would go but Michelle just told her no. "Jess, I'm not letting you go back to him on your own, it is not going to happen. I just need you to follow my lead, I have some ideas."

Tony grabbed Michelle and pulled her in so he could whisper in her ear. "I can't let you go. I can't live without you..."

"Tony, I can't let your sister go back there on her own. I'll never be able to live with myself. And I'm not going to risk you, or your parents. I love you. You have made me so happy."

The phone Sam had given her rang. She opened it up, "What?"

"What the fuck is taking so long? Send Jess over now. If she doesn't start walking now, I will shoot Tony."

Michelle just hung up the phone. "He is going to shoot at you, Tony run. Run as fast as you can. I'll get Jess back to you safely, I promise."

He was shaking his head and crying. Jess squeezed his hand, "Tony you have to let this happen or else we all are going to pay the price..."

As she was finishing her sentence a bullet flew passed Tony's side and literally just caught a bit of his jacket arm. Even a quarter of an inch to the side and it would have hit him in the arm. It made them all drop to the ground. "I love you Tony." Michelle grabbed Jess and they started running. Instinctively Tony went to run after them but another bullet fired, this time it skimmed his leg and was enough to make him fall to the ground. He spoke into his com that shots were fired so that back up would all move in. He looked up to see Michelle and Jess round the corner. He told his men where they were and barked at them to move in on them immediately.

The second the girls rounded the corner, Sam pulled up next to them in the car and Ashley pushed them both from behind to get in the car. Ashley made Michelle and Jess keep their heads down so they couldn't be seen. Michelle was trying to look out the window, she was sure CTU would be pouncing on the car within a second. The car turned sharply into someone's house. Ashley grabbed Jess by the arms and pulled her out of the car, he was so rough it ripped the watch off and it dropped to the ground. Sam held the gun on them both and made them all run into the back garden of the house. They could all hear police sirens and helicopters around them. They jumped over another fence, and made their way into another backyard. Sam was panicking; he didn't know what to do or where to go.

Michelle tried to keep as close to Jess as possible. Before they knew it, Sam had kicked down the back door of someone's house and barged in. Michelle prayed to God no one was home. All the lights were off and it appeared to be empty. Sam made Ashley search the rooms whilst he pushed Michelle and Jess onto the floor. "2 for the price of 1 huh?"

Michelle just stared at him.

"You could have gone Michelle, I just wanted Jess."

"You really think I was going to just let her come back to you on her own?"

He pushed the gun into Michelle's temple, "Well you are not much good to her if you're dead."

Jess started crying. "Please Sam, I'm here. Don't hurt her. I'm begging you..."

Sam's attention turned to Jess. He kissed her on the forehead. "All I wanted was for you to talk to me. Was that really so hard? I thought you loved me?"

"You scared me though Sam, you hurt me. You hurt Michelle. If you loved me, how could you hurt me?"

"It was 1 time! 1 fuck up. People make mistakes Jess. You don't just cut them out of your life because they make a mistake. I tried to tell you how sorry I was."

Jess wasn't falling for any of it but she wanted Sam to think that he was getting through to her. "I'm sorry, I didn't know what to do, and I got scared. You can understand that can't you?"

Sam stared at her for what felt like hours but was probably only a few seconds. "I love you. Now look at what you have done! We are fucked!" He pulled her body into his and kissed her on the lips. She went along with it. She felt physically ill but she figured this was her only way of calming him down.

Michelle's heart was racing. Watching Sam run his hands all over Jess made her want to kill him. She was trying to think of what CTU would be doing now. They had lost their trace but the watch was still only a couple houses at the most away from them. Surely they would be storming every house now any minute.

Sam knew that they would be found soon if they stayed in the one place. He made Ash go to the garage and see if there was a car. When Ash got nervous about going outside on his own, Sam punched him and told him to get it the fuck together or else they wouldn't get out of this situation. He told him to find them a car.

As Sam kept a look out the windows, Michelle pulled Jess back into her arms. She whispered into her ear, "You ok? We will get through this. Well done with him, I think he actually fell for it."

Jess shook her head, "He is so dumb and clearly off his head. What is he on?"

"I don't know, I saw them taking tablets but I don't know what it is."

"Do you think Tony was ok?"

That bought a tear to Michelle's eye. "As we rounded the corner I saw him fall to the ground, I think he might have been hit in the leg...he tried to follow us."

Jess was teary as well. "I knew he would. Will he be ok?"

Michelle squeezed her hand. "They would have had medical help to him within a few moments Jess. Your big brother is strong, he will be ok."

Ash appeared back inside. "Kay, I've got one. It is next house to the back in the garage. I can get it started."

Sam pulled Jess up and kicked Michelle to get up. "Let's go, we don't get out of this area we are fucked."

He kept the gun on them as they made their way to the car. A helicopter spot light was literally 2 houses over, Michelle couldn't believe how close help was. Sam noticed her looking up and slowing down. He grabbed her roughly and pushed her forward. "Don't try a fucking thing or Jess gets it."

He made Michelle and Jess get into the boot. Then once Ash had the car started he got in the driver's side and slowly rolled the car forward. He couldn't see any other cars on the street so he began driving, once he had gotten 4 blocks away he picked up the pace. He didn't want to draw attention to the car by driving too fast whilst they knew they were still surrounded by cops. Within a couple turns though he was on a main street with quite a few other cars and they blended in. Especially with only the 2 of them being seen. He stayed on the main road until it hit a highway and then he turned onto it and floored it.

Just like that, they had made it out of the CTU barriers and were free. His eyes were blurry and he could feel himself start to sweat and get shivers. He popped a few more tablets and kept driving.

* * *

Tony was lying in the ambulance whilst a doctor stitched his leg. The bullet had grazed his thigh enough he needed a pile of stiches and the wound was quite wide. He felt so dumbfounded by the entire situation he hadn't been able to speak properly. Other than telling Chapelle everything that Michelle had said he couldn't talk anymore. He had lost his sister and Michelle, just like that. He was so angry that a couple thugs had managed to beat his team, rationally he knew it wasn't that simple but right now he wasn't rational. They wanted to transport him to the hospital to be treated properly but he refused. He tried to keep calm as he asked them to please just get his leg wrapped up so he could get back out there.

* * *

Michelle had Jess help her to try and break the brake lights and push them out. It was an old car and just breaking a bit of the plastic was easy. It gave them some air and Michelle could look out. They searched the boot for anything they could maybe stick out when the car was stopped at red lights and maybe draw attention from someone. Jess was beginning to really start to panic. "He is going to kill us Chelle. I've never seen him like this before, it is like he is a completely different person. The look in his eyes is haunting..."

Michelle stroked her hair, "hey you got to listen to me Jess. We can stick together and get through this ok? We are smart, we can work together. Those 2 are off their nut and will let their guard down soon, they will trip up and make a mistake. Either that or they will pass out but in the condition they are in they are not going to be able to keep this up for long."

"Where do you think they are taking us?"

"I'm guessing to Ashley's house or a motel room or something like that. They don't know what they are doing. Sam has no clue; he didn't think this thing through past being able to get you."

Jess cried a little. "I don't want him touching me Chelle. I thought I was going to vomit all over him when he touched and kissed me before."

Michelle wiped the tears from her face. "I know sweetie, I am so sorry. But try and think about it right now as the one thing that is buying us some time. I won't let him do anything more than kiss you, you have my word."

"But how can you stop..."

"Jess, you have my word, I won't let him take advantage of you."

"I can't believe you came with me Chelle. You just put your life on the line like that without even thinking twice...for me...for Tony."

"I love you guys, you are everything to me."

They hugged. Every time the car stopped at lights they stuck their fingers out as much as they could but it didn't help them.

* * *

Charlie and Natalie were with Tony in the ambulance. It seemed like Natalie had almost gone into shock. She was so quiet and tearful, like she had no idea what to say or do. Charlie was listening to Chapelle, Tony and everyone else discuss leads and plans. He wanted to do whatever he could.

He watched as Tony got so frustrated that it was taking so long with his leg that he literally just grabbed some bandages himself and got up. Charlie stood up with him. "What are you doing son?"

"It's taking them too long, I just need to stop the bleeding so I can get back out there, I can damn well do that myself."

Tony jumped down the step to the ground and let out a howl of pain. He slumped against the back of the car. Charlie took the bandages out of Tony's hands. "Here, sit down and I'll wrap it for you."

Tony did as his Dad told him to. He kept his head staring at the ground.

"Why won't you look at me Tony? You won't even talk to us?"

"How can I look you in the eye when I just let your daughter, my baby sister and Michelle, the love of my life and my baby, go into the hands of that animal?"

"Tony, they were shooting at you for fucks sake. And Michelle chose to go with Jess, you didn't have any choice. There was nothing you could do. And you know if the situation had been reversed...if you were in Michelle's shoes, you would have done the same thing."

"You get that Michelle totally just put her life on the line when she had the chance to be free to save our lives? And then to try and help Jess. That is how special she is Dad. There is no one like Michelle."

Charlie finished wrapping his leg. "You are right Tony, she is incredible. And because of her, our Jess has a real chance."

Tony nodded his head and then told his Dad he needed to check back in with Chapelle. They had found the watch which had lead the team to the house they had been in and now tactical figured the most likely scenario was that they had gotten away in one of 2 cars missing in the houses around it. The owners of the house still hadn't come home and the police were trying to track them down. Finally they found got the licence plate number to 2 possible cars and sent out an alert to all police. They had a lead, it felt like a weak one, but a lead all the same.

* * *

After what felt like a long time the car came to a stop. They heard both the doors slam shut and then the boot flew open. The girls told each other they loved each other as they were being yanked out. Sam stood with them as he sent Ash off to get them a room at a seedy hotel they had pulled up at. As the 3 of them stood there, Sam looked them both up and down. His eyes were very droopy, Michelle could tell he was losing it. She knew that with her training she would be able to take him on, she just didn't think she could take on both Ash and Sam and the gun.

Once inside the room Ash started asking Sam what the hell they were going to do. "You said we would get money man? We are screwed. Give me some more..."

Sam pulled out his stash and gave Ash another couple tablets to keep him quiet. "I just need some time to think alright. Just give me some time to think."

Ash slumped down in a chair. He looked like he was going to pass out. Sam walked over to Jess. "Get up."

Jess did as he asked. Straight away Sam pulled her in and started to kiss her neck. "This is all I've wanted..."

Michelle couldn't stand by and let this happen. She stood up next them. "Leave her alone Sam, she doesn't want to be with you. You can't force her to want..."

Sam took a step back, shocked by her words. "God, you really don't know when to butt the fuck out do you?"

She just stared at him.

Sam smirked. "Well, I need a good fuck...Jess come with me." He grabbed her then turned to Ashley and threw a pillow at him. "Watch this one would ya." He walked over and handed Ashley the gun. "Don't let her move."

Michelle pulled Jess back. "Don't touch her." Michelle looked at Jess who looked horrified beyond belief. She couldn't let this happen to Jess. "I'll do what you want."

Sam went to yell but then actually heard what she said. He looked her up and down and then smiled. He looked at Jess and then laughed at her in a dismissingly way. He walked over to Michelle and ran his hand straight down from her shoulder over her breast. He groped her hard and at the same time looked at Jess and laughed.

Jess started crying. "No Michelle...you don't have to do this. Don't Michelle."

Michelle pulled back from Sam. "Just give me a minute with Jess. You will get what you want, don't worry."

He put his finger up like they had 1 minute. Michelle pulled Jess off to the side. Jess was getting so hysterical she wasn't breathing right, she couldn't even keep her eyes still. Michelle whispered to her. "Jess, I gave you my word that I wouldn't let him touch you..."

"He is going to rape you Michelle. Tony is going to die. You can't do this. This is my mess, I'll be with him. I can do this."

Michelle looked down at the way Jess' body was shaking. She could see that she had wet herself, that's how frightened she was. She knew that if she didn't get Jess out of this traumatic situation she was going to really lose it. "Jess, no. I will not let that happen to you." She pulled Jess in even closer so she was sure Sam couldn't hear. "I'm trained Jess...I'm going to use this opportunity to try and get us out of here. I need you to wait out here and be ready for me. I might yell, I might run out, just be ready to run when I say so. Ok?"

Jess was looking everywhere like she didn't know what was going on.

"Jess, do you hear me? Do you understand what I am saying? Just stand right here and wait for me."

Jess nodded her head. "I love you Michelle. I'm sorry."

"I love you and we are going to be back with Tony soon, I promise."

With that Michelle turned and followed Sam into the bedroom. Jess watched her until the door was closed and then she just kept staring at it. She couldn't stop thinking about what he was doing to Michelle. How Tony would feel if he knew what was happening right now. She looked over at Ashley who was half watching her, half watching the TV. He was holding the gun and slowly waving it around in the air. Jess had never been more scared in her entire life. She couldn't believe how amazing Michelle was, how calm and collected she had been able to be. Ash turned the TV up so Jess couldn't hear anything but that.

* * *

What felt like hours later but was really only 20 minutes the door opened. Michelle stuck her head out. Jess looked at her shocked, waiting to see Sam appear behind her but he didn't. Michelle held up her hand to make Jess stop and not move. Then she walked halfway back down the hall towards Jess until she reached the bathroom. She disappeared inside for a moment and then stuck her head back around. Michelle mouthed to Jess to tell Ash she was going to the toilet.

"I need the toilet."

Ash barley turned his head. He was so out of it by now he didn't know what the hell was going on. All he said in return was, "huh."

Jess walked straight to Michelle who was holding her finger across her mouth to tell her to keep quiet. As soon as both girls were in the bathroom, Michelle locked the door behind them. She had already opened the window for them, it was small but big enough for them to both climb out. She helped Jess stand up on the toilet and reach up to the frame. Jess pulled herself up the rest of the way and then climbed through. It was barely a drop to the ground. As soon as she landed she turned around to see Michelle already halfway through the window. She dropped to the ground next to them.

Michelle took Jess's hand and they both made a mad dash across the parking lot to a street across the road. It wasn't until they were out of sight of the motel that they finally stopped.

Jess grabbed Michelle. "What happened? What did he do to you?"

"I'm ok, I managed to knock him out and..."

"Is he dead?"

"No, but he isn't in good shape, he will be if he doesn't get help soon."

"You saved us. What do we do now? We don't even know where we are?"

Michelle looked around. There were no shops, nothing. She looked up at a couple of the houses along the street. She started leading Jess to one of the nicest biggest houses. "We are going to have to take our chances, knock on the door and ask for help."

Jess was nodding her head and followed Michelle. "What did he do to you Michelle?"

Michelle brushed Jess off. "Nothing, I'm fine, come on."

Jess didn't know what to say. She didn't want to push it when clearly Michelle couldn't talk about it. She felt sick to her stomach. She hoped Sam died.

They knocked on the door to the house and within a minute a woman and man opened their door in the bathrobes. They took a look at the 2 girls, bruised, dirty, shaking, and bleeding. "Oh My God, what has happened to you?"

"Please we need help. We were kidnapped a few hours ago and we just got away. Can we please come in and call for help?"

The man stood out and helped the girls inside. "Of course. I'll call the police." He locked the door behind them.

Michelle spoke up. "Actually, I'm a federal agent, do you mind if I make the call?"

The man handed Michelle the phone. The woman grabbed a blanket and threw it around Jess who was shaking. She ran to get them both some water.

Michelle called Tony's cell.

"Almeida."

"It's me."

"Sweetheart? Oh My God are you both ok? Where are you?"

"We are ok. We got away but I don't know where we are."

"Where are you calling from?"

"We knocked on someone's door. A man and lady let us come in."

Tony could tell Michelle was in shock and not thinking straight. "Sweetheart, put the man on the phone for me for one minute ok?"

"Ok...Tony, I'm sorry." She handed the phone to the man.

Tony had a million thoughts racing through his mind. He had never heard Michelle speak like that, her tone was almost unrecognizable. The man came on the line. "Hello, this Graham."

"Graham, I am Federal agent Tony Almeida. That is my girlfriend and my sister you have there, thank you so much for letting them in."

"They need help Tony. What do you want me to do?"

"I need your address and I'll have a tactical team and medics their immediately."

Graham gave Tony the address. They were less than 20 minutes away. Tony was gave the order to his men and they were all already driving in the car as he continued to speak to Graham. "Are they physically hurt?"

Graham looked over at them both and his heart sank. "Battered and bruised. Hard to tell. Extremely shaken up."

"Thank you Graham, would you mind putting Michelle back on the phone? We will be there very soon."

Michelle took the phone. "Hello?"

"Michelle, it's me Tony. I'm only a few minutes away."

"Thank you. Do you want to speak to Jess?"

Tony's heart was heavy beyond belief. What was wrong with Michelle? She spoke to him almost as though he was a stranger. He didn't know what to do, he needed to see her. He told her he loved her and then said yes he would talk to Jess.

Jess was completely the opposite of Michelle. She couldn't stop talking. She was going a mile a minute. Not even stopping for a breath. Tony was having trouble understanding her. He spoke with a very gentle tone, "Hey hey, can you slow down a little sis? I can't understand you. Are you both ok?"

"Michelle saved us Tony. She totally saved us. I didn't do anything, I just had to wait and then...and then Michelle took Sam down and we climbed out a window."

"Michelle seemed like she barely knew it was me on the phone Jess?"

Jess lowered her voice, "She's been through a lot. A lot worse than me. She protected me from everything but she won't talk about it."

Tony's heart pounded harder and harder as every possible thing ran through his mind. "Did either one of them lay finger on either of you?"

She hesitated, "like hit us?...yes"

Tony knew there was more. "Jess in any other way?"

Jess didn't know what to say. She looked over at Michelle who wasn't even listening. She was now in the kitchen wiping her face with a face cloth from the lady. "Ummm don't hate me Tony..."

"Why would I hate you? I could never hate. I love you so much, you're my little sister."

"Chelle wouldn't let them come near me..."

He felt tears run down his cheeks. "Sam touched her?"

Jess nodded her head and then realised Tony couldn't see her. "Yes, I don't know to what extent. He took her off to another room for awhile but that's when she managed to overpower him and get us out of there."

After a minute Tony passed the phone over to his mum so she could speak to Jess. He stared out the window as he felt like his heart broke inside. On one hand he was so relieved they were both alive but now he had to deal with what Michelle had been through. Charlie tried to talk to him but he, as politely as he could, told his Dad he couldn't talk right now, he just needed to think. He felt his Dad's hand rest on his shoulder and tell him that was more than ok.

Michelle had never been more exhausted than she was right now. It still hadn't sunk in that they were safe. This was the first time in hours and hours that she felt like she could actually take a proper breath. She watched Jess on the phone and she saw her smile for a brief moment and all of a sudden it made everything feel worth it to Michelle. They had made it. She watched as Jess ran to the window and then over to the front door. Obviously they were here. Graham opened the door, the look of shock so evident on his face to be confronted with a large group of people, all in different uniforms. He held the door open and let them in.

Tony was first. He hugged Jess, as he did, he looked over her shoulder to see Michelle standing by herself in the kitchen. He let go of Jess and made his way towards her. She stood still and watched as Tony made his way to her. She could see the pile of people that had come in with Tony and it freaked her out. She didn't want to deal with everyone from work right now. The woman was still standing in the kitchen with Michelle. Michelle turned to her, "I don't want to go out there yet."

Tony had heard what she said as he reached her. The woman looked at him, "Are you Tony?"

He nodded. "Thank you so much for helping Michelle and Jess..."

She waved at him like that was fine then she stepped closer to Tony, "Why don't you take Michelle into the room off the kitchen, I don't think she is quite ready for your entourage yet?"

"Thank you."

Tony turned back to Michelle. He couldn't wait any longer, he reached out and pulled her into a hug. It took her a moment to respond but eventually she put her arms around him. Tony looked over her shoulder at all the people in the room. Everyone was starting to make their way over so he put his hand up in the air to stop them. "Just give us a few minutes."

He whispered into Michelle's ear, "Come with me into the next room."

She happily followed him into the empty room. He kept his arm around her but when he leaned back to lock the door she thought he was letting her go. 'No, don't..."

He pulled her back into his arms. "I'm not. I'm not going anywhere." His head was doing flips trying to work out the best way to handle the situation. He wanted to inspect her, find out where she was hurt and he needed her to start talking to him more so he could figure out what kind of state she was in.

"Chelle, where are you hurt?"

"Can you take me home Tony?"

He was sure she had to be in some kind of shock or something. She wasn't herself. "I need to take you to the hospital Michelle." He held her cheeks so she had to look at him, "Do you understand what is going on baby?"

"Yeah of course I do. Why are you asking that?"

"Because when we were on the phone it felt like you barely even knew it was me you were talking to..."

"I didn't know what to do Tony. I'm scared. I had to take a chance on knocking on a stranger's door for help, I was trying to watch Jess..."

He pulled her in and hugged her. "You know you are safe now, I am not letting you out of my sight..."

"What about Sam and Ashley?"

"I had a team go and pick them up straight away. Jess told me on the phone where they were."

Michelle nodded her head. Tony ran his hand down her cheek. "Jess also told me that you protected her the whole time."

"I promised you I would..."

Tony could see blood seeping through her top which was badly ripped and torn. He had to get her help. "She told me that you wouldn't let Sam touch her, that you protected her from that as well..." He held his breath, unsure of how she was going to respond.

She dropped eye contact with him. "I don't want to talk about it. I gave Jess my word and I kept true to that, that's all there is to it."

Tony could feel how angry he was, his whole body was shaking, he tried to keep his voice down and calm but he wasn't very successful. "I'll fucking kill him...what did he do to you?"

Michelle pulled out of Tony's arms. "I want to go home."

"You can't go home Michelle. I need to take you to the hospital. What, do you just want to pretend none of this even happened?"

She raised her voice back at him. "Yes! That is exactly what I want."

"It doesn't work that way Michelle. You..." He stopped himself when he realised that he wasn't going to get anywhere by yelling. He tried to pull her into him again. "Let me see you."

Tears started streaming down her cheeks. Finally, she was letting her guard down. He almost breathed a sigh of relief. She started to breathe very heavily. "What so you can be even angrier at me?"

He felt his heart drop. "You think I am angry at you?"

Her words were broken and her voice was so weak. "Of course you are. You can't even call me sweetheart, you will only use my full name..."

Tears poured down his cheeks and he pulled her closer to him. She tried to fight him a bit but within a couple moments she gave in and allowed him to pull her into his arms. "I'm sorry sweetheart. I'm just scared to death, that's all. You are my sweetheart. My heart is in a million pieces just thinking about what you have been through. I'm angry at Sam and the situation but you...you are the most special person in the world to me. I love you sweetheart, I love you so much."

Michelle finally really collapsed into his arms. He felt his heart start to race and he held her as tight as possible. He heard her say, "I love you Tony, I just did what I had to do to get home to you."

"I know baby and you saved Jess, you saved all of us. But now I need to make sure you are ok. The door is locked, it is just us, let me see you sweetheart."

"You don't want to see..."

He pulled back so he could look at her. She was getting more and more worked up by the second. He kissed her lips and then whispered into her ear, "What about our baby? You have been through so much...you need help."

When Tony bought up their baby like that it made her even more upset. He started to worry that she was going to have another panic attack. She nodded her head, "Ok..."

Tony had already noticed she was no longer wearing a bra. He had to tell himself repeatedly to not say anything or react in a way that was going to scare Michelle off even more. He pulled her shirt off her shoulders slowly, stopping halfway through to kiss her on the lips and tell her how much he loved her. There were 2 things that caught his immediate attention. A wound on the side of her stomach that was wide, deep and bleeding a lot and secondly a large handprint on her chest, just above her breasts. It was forming a bruise but it was so prominent – he pictured Michelle being pinned against a wall and it made him want to throw up. She had other bruises and a few little cuts. He saw enough that he knew she needed to be treated as soon as possible. He pulled his top off and helped Michelle put it on. He looked her in the eyes and spoke really softly. "Did he rape you sweetheart?"

She said 'no' before he had even finished saying the words. "I can't face everyone out there right now Tony."

He pulled her into him. "Ok baby, ok." He spoke into his ear piece, "Ryan you there?"

"Yes Tony, how is Michelle?"

"Look, Michelle isn't ready to have to face everyone out there. I am going to carry her out to one of the cars and have her taken to the hospital. I would like it to be just Michelle and I with the driver. Can you have Jess and my parents follow?"

"Ok Tony."

Chapelle warned everyone that Tony was about to bring Michelle out and take her to the car but asked if everyone could just let them walk through and give her space. Everyone nodded their head. Charlie asked if they could go with them to the hospital. Ryan told him that he would take them and Jess in another car right behind Tony.

Michelle and Tony had stayed just holding one another for a few minutes. Tony felt like her grip on him just got tighter and tighter. He ran his hands through her hair and told her he would not leave her side. Then he picked her up in his arms. She rested her head against his chest. He kissed her and told her to just face in towards his body, that they would be out of the house and into the car in just a minute. She did as he said and he walked her out of the room. Everyone became quiet and watched as Tony carried Michelle out to the car. Natalie's heart broke seeing that. She wanted to hold Michelle and make her feel better. She wanted to thank her, she just wanted her to be alright.

As soon as the car had left with Tony and Michelle, Ryan got Charlie, Jess and Natalie into another one. He left Baker in charge of finishing up with Graham. They all made their way to the hospital.

In the car, Tony kept Michelle wrapped up in his arms as close as he could. He covered her in kisses and stroked her. He thanked her, told her he loved her and promised to get her through this.

**Thanks for reading. Please review and let me know what you think and if you would like me to continue. Thanks so much!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hi guys, not really sure if you are all still following this story anymore or not. I still have lots of ideas for it but will only continue if you want me to and are still interested in reading. I really appreciate you taking the time and to those that leave review. Thanks so much.**

**As usual, I don't own 24 and this is for adults eyes only:)**

Tony was struggling to fight the urge to ask Michelle a million questions. He wanted to know every single thing that had happened. He wanted to know everything she was thinking. He couldn't stand not knowing. He felt like he didn't know how to look after her properly, say or do the right thing because he didn't understand exactly what she had been through or how she was feeling.

She was tearful in the car but other than a sob or whimper every few moments she didn't say a word. As they got closer to the hospital and Michelle looked out the window and saw where they were she began to panic. Finally she spoke, "I don't want to go in there Tony."

"Sweetheart, you need help..."

"Please don't make me." Her voice was completely desperate. The tone of her voice gave away so much, the vulnerability he heard in her voice broke his heart.

"Talk to me baby, why don't you want to go in there?"

She hesitated, like she was thinking carefully about what she was saying. "I just want to go home. I'm tired and I don't want to deal with the doctors or people from work. Don't you just want to go home Tony? Don't you want it to be just us?"

"Of course I do sweetheart. I'd give anything in the world to just take you home and wrap you up in my arms and not deal with anything or anyone but we can't. You are bleeding badly baby, you need stitches. You are covered with bruises; you need to be looked after." He could tell by the way she was looking at him that she was completely unconvinced. She didn't want to accept anything he was saying. He decided to try another tactic. "Also, I have to get stitches as well baby..."

"WHAT?"

"When they fired at us, it grazed my leg and..."

"Oh my God, why didn't you tell me? Tony! How bad is it?" She looked down at his thigh where he rubbed his hand over the bandage.

"I'm fine baby, it is just some stitches. Dad bandaged it afterwards but..."

"Why didn't you get it looked after when it happened? There were medics..."

He squeezed her hand, "Are you kidding me? Chelle, you had just been taken. There was no way I was going to waste time on that, I needed to be looking for you." He hadn't meant for her to get so upset, he had only wanted to try and give another reason for getting her to the hospital. "Anyways, we both need to get some stitches, so will you come in with me?"

"Of course I will. They need to check that straight away. I can't believe all this time and you didn't tell me you were hurt."

Tony was confused. She seemed so genuinely hurt that he hadn't told her in just the short amount of time they had been back together yet she wouldn't tell him a thing. "Can't you see baby? Look how upset you are at me for not telling you about my thigh and yet with everything you have just been through, you won't say a word. I'm basically dragging you to the hospital. That's not fair is it? Don't I deserve to know what's wrong with you?"

"It's different."

"How?"

"Tony..."

His voice rose. "No Chelle, it is not different. It is exactly the same. I am sitting here scared to fucking death over what has happened to you, what is wrong with you...will you just stop and think for one second all of the images and thoughts that are running through my head right now? Take what you feel over my thigh and times that by about a million and you might be half way to how I am feeling."

He really shocked her. She could see how angry he was, how frustrated he was with her and she didn't know what to do about it. She heard what he was saying and she knew it made sense but she could barely get her head around what she had been through, how was she suppose to tell him? "Sorry."

He was frustrated. "Does that mean you will talk to me?"

She yelled at him. "What the hell do you want to hear Tony?"

He was shocked that she yelled at him. Shocked by her words. He felt even angrier at himself for not knowing how to handle this situation. He should be making her feel better right now, not even more upset. "I want to hear the truth. I want to know what they did to you!"

The car pulled into the emergency department. Just before the car door was opened for her she turned and looked him in the eyes. "They beat the shit out of me Tony. Every time I so much as looked the wrong way, breathed too loudly, spoke for Jess...what ever...they hit me. But worst of all, whilst he was doing that just to make sure I got the message, he would remind me that he would kill you and Jess and your parents if I didn't do what he wanted."

He sat there feeling numb as her words radiated through his body. It was pretty much exactly what he had been imagining but hearing her say it felt so much worse. And the fear in her eyes as she said it was probably the worst part of the whole thing.

Doctors were now pulling Michelle out of the vehicle and putting her onto a stretcher. He tried to snap out of it as he rushed around to her before they started wheeling her in. The doctors had already been called about Michelle and Jess, they knew that Tony was a Federal agent and Michelle's partner and so without question they allowed him to follow as she was taken to an examination room. He heard her telling the nurse that they needed to fix his thigh and that they should do that first. He couldn't believe it. He caught eye contact with the nurse over Michelle's head and shook his head and mouthed the words 'no'. He wanted to hold her hand, stroke her face, hold her but right now she wasn't even looking at him. He had to get her back to that place of allowing him in. He knew until that happened, she wasn't going to let anyone do anything. She was putting up her guard and she wasn't going to let anyone in.

Exactly like he had just thought, as soon as the doctor entered the room and introduced himself he then told her they would give her something for the pain and get her changed into a gown, she greeted him but then said she couldn't change and she was fine, she didn't need any medication.

The doctor looked at her and then at Tony. He had no idea how to respond. He went to say something and then stopped. He walked over to Tony and spoke quietly to him. "Is she in shock? Does she understand what is going on?"

Tony was shaking his head, he couldn't believe he had let Michelle get to this point. "I think that Yes she is in a bit of shock. She doesn't want accept what has happened but mainly she has put her guard up. I think she is still scared to death and doesn't want to let anyone in. Can you give me a minute to talk to her?"

"Just get her to at least take the pain medication. I'll put valium in it with some sedative which will make her calm down and relax a little. Then we will be able to start getting her to co-operate so she can be looked at. She is bleeding pretty heavily and I don't want to lose any more time."

Tony nodded his head. He made his way over to the bed. "Look at me sweetheart."

She did as he asked. "I'm sorry about before, I am just so scared. All I want is to be here for you. Make you feel better, safe. The last thing in the world I want is for you to feel like I am not here with you 100%. You can't put walls up though sweetheart...please let me in. Even if just for now will you please just let me in?"

"I'm sorry I got you so frustrated. I just don't know how to handle all this Tony..."

"I know baby, neither do I but together we will figure it out."

She nodded her head and agreed with him. "So for me, will you just accept the pain medication? I can see how much pain you are in, this will help that."

"Ok but do you promise you are staying here? You won't let them do anything I don't want..."

He squeezed her hand. "I'm not leaving you for 1 second. If you let me in and talk to me I'll try and get you through this as easy as possible and keep you comfortable but you have to trust me?"

Michelle looked at him and nodded her head slightly.

He leant down and kissed her softly on the lips. "Do you trust me sweetheart?"

"Yes. But you have to promise me you will get your thigh looked at."

"I promise."

He sighed in relief and then went to turn around to give the go ahead to the doctor when he felt her tug on his hand, he looked back at her. "But you are the only one I trust Tony..." she looked over at the doctors and everyone else in the room, "no one else here."

"I know baby, I won't let you down."

He walked over to the doctor and told him to go ahead and give Michelle the injection. The doctor looked relieved and thanked Tony. He had it all ready to go and so he immediately made his way with Tony back to the bed. Tony helped Michelle pull her pants down enough for the doctor to give the needle into her thigh. He had barely pulled the needle out before she was reaching down and yanking her pants back up. Tony kissed her, "thanks sweetie."

"Now what happens?"

The doctor spoke up. "That will only take a minute or so to start working and once you tell me that you are feeling a little better then I will need to look at the wound and see what needs to be done. Is that ok?"

Michelle seemed to soften to the doctor as he spoke to her. He spoke with a very gentle tone and the way he made her feel like he was asking her permission, not just telling her, made it seem easier. "Yeah, thank you doctor."

The doctor leaned down a little closer to Michelle. "Why don't you call me Conner? I want you to feel comfortable with me Michelle. I know you have just been through a horrifying ordeal but I want you to know I am here to try and make you feel better. Get you back on track so we can get you home with Tony as soon as possible."

Tony was so grateful to Connor - that was exactly what he thought Michelle needed to hear. He smiled when Michelle actually smiled a little at Connor and said, "Ok Connor, thank you."

Tony sat back down next to Michelle and held her hand as they waited for the drugs to kick in. He prayed they were strong enough to really make Michelle relax.

"Tony?"

"Yes baby?"

"Is Jess ok?"

"Thanks to you she is."

"She was very courageous you know Almeida. I was really proud of her and she listened to me and we wouldn't have got out of there if she didn't stick by my side and do what I asked even though she was so scared."

Tony was so touched. He figured Michelle and Jess would have a bond for life now over what they had been through together. "She is a tough kid but she loves you Chelle and she admires you and respects you. She knew how much you were putting yourself on the line for her and she will never forget that...my entire family will always be in debt to you."

"Well they have all treated me with so much love...like a member of the family from day 1. I've never had that before. I've never had a mum. The way your mum has treated me...I've never ever had that. She has made me realize what I missed out on growing up. Since Dad died...I haven't had any feeling of family really. And your Dad...well I guess it is just so nice to have a 'dad' like person around again and he is so wonderful to me. You are so lucky Tony."

He could have proposed to her right then and there on the spot. He had to stop himself from blurting it out. "You are family baby. You really are."

He watched as her eyes started to droop a little. She tried to fight it but struggled. They kept opening and closing and she started to squint as if things were a little blurry. He watched as her shoulders relaxed. They had been hunched and so tight but now they actually rested against the bed and the rest of her body seemed to relax into the bed as well. "How are you feeling baby?"

Her words were slurred. "Really good. Really really good."

He laughed a little. Connor appeared at her bedside. "How are we doing?"

Tony smiled at him, "I think everything has kicked in."

"Good, now...Michelle, I need to get you into a gown and then look at this wound. I'll clear the room, will you let Tony help you into a gown?"

"Okay." Every word she spoke was long and drawn out.

Once the room was empty and Tony stood over her with the gown he tried to figure out how was going to be the easiest way to do this. She was staring up at him, waiting for him to tell her what to do. "Ok sweetheart, how about we start with getting that top off, then we will tackle your pants. Can you sit up a little and put your arms up?"

Michelle did as he asked although she was really slow. The first attempt to sit up and she went straight back down again. She then supported herself by her elbows and waited for a moment to get a little more energy and then she pushed herself up. Tony put his hand on her back to help keep her up. She raised her arms. He pulled the top up and straight over her head. His heart dropped again as he saw the wound and all the bruises. She was still bleeding badly. It was making him very nervous, blood was going everywhere. The handprint was so prominent. It was a dark red colour and actually swollen and sticking out. He felt all the anger come flooding back. He tried to keep as normal face as possible in front of Michelle, he didn't want scare her with his reaction although he felt like bursting into tears and kissing every inch of her better.

He encouraged her that she was doing well. He told her to lay back down and rest for a moment and then he undid her shoes and pulled them and her socks off. He then undid her pants and slowly pulled them down, he was terrified of what he might see. He gasped when he saw that her underwear was ripped and on her thigh was what looked like 3 cigarette burns. "Baby, did he burn you with a cigarette?"

"Don't be angry with me..."

He stroked her forehead and forced a smile. "Not angry sweetheart. In no way am I ever going to be angry with you. You can't think like that. I hate him, I hate what he has done to you. I love you."

She seemed relieved. "Yes he pushed his smoke into my leg when I wouldn't...when I wouldn't..." she stopped herself from what she was going to say.

"When you wouldn't what baby?"

He watched as she looked like she was concentrating so hard on trying to keep her wits about her and control what she said. She was kind of losing the battle but not completely yet. "Just when I wouldn't do what he said...that's all."

He was going to push her but he still had to get her underwear off and get her to agree to everything the doctors needed to do so he didn't want to upset her anymore than he had to right now. He nodded his head at her and told her it was ok, she didn't have to explain it to him right now. He got the shock of his life when she sat up a little and kissed him on the lips.

"Mmm what was that for?"

"I love you." They looked into each other eyes. They both knew what was going on. She was grateful he wasn't pushing her and he was happy she was letting her guard down a little and trying.

He snapped out of it and then went to pull her underwear off. She grabbed his hand. "No way."

"The doctor said everything off sweetheart. I'm going to cover you right back up with the gown."

Tears rolled down her cheeks. She mumbled something, he came up closer to her mouth and asked her to repeat.

In the quietest voice that was reeked with sadness, "but I made a promise to myself when I was there...ummm before...that you, you would be the only other person for the rest of my life that would see me like that. Now the doctors are going..."

Her words hit him for 6 and he slumped back down into the chair. How did he respond to that? He caught eye contact with her and they stared at one another. He was completely lost for words. Silence over took them.

Michelle's eyes were blurry and she was really having trouble thinking straight but never had she seen the look on Tony's face right now. She had never seen an expression like that on anyone's face. He seemed defeated and overwhelmed. He always knew what to say, yet he looked like he had absolutely no idea what to do or say. She could see tears start to make their way down his cheeks and he rubbed his face roughly. She wanted this moment over, it was killing her to see him like this. She couldn't think of anything else to do so she reached for her underwear and tried to start pulling them down.

Tony looked over and saw what she was doing. He pushed himself up from the chair and helped her. He didn't look at her face, he concentrated on what he was doing but finally spoke loud enough for her to hear, "Thank you."

Michelle was now completely naked and exposed. He grabbed the gown, helped her to sit up a little and put it on her. He didn't tie it up as he knew the doctor would just undo it in a minute anyway but at least now she was covered. He grabbed a towel and pressed it on the wound to try and stop the bleeding until the doctors came back. She winced in pain and he apologized repeatedly. He pressed the buzzer for the doctor to come back. "You did amazing. Now let's get you fixed so I can take you home."

* * *

The next couple hours passed in a flash. They ended up knocking Michelle out almost completely so they could stitch her wound. Her eyes were closed and she could barely respond to anyone, she seemed to just drift in and out of consciousness. The doctors took the opportunity of when Michelle was so completely unaware of what was happening to set Tony up on a stretcher next to her and have his wound stitched as well. Luckily it wasn't that deep and only required 15 stitches. They gave Tony some pain relief and he was surprised when it kicked in at just how much pain he had actually been in this whole time but not really noticed. He watched Michelle the entire time.

He called his parents who were in a room just down the hall with Jess waiting to be able to come in and see them. His mum seemed so relieved to hear from Tony. He could tell she was still an absolute mess over the entire situation. She was desperate to see them both and Tony promised that as soon as Michelle woke up a bit more and the doctors got her more stable he would let them come in. He spoke to both his parents for quite a long time. They told him how Jess was doing and he finally got a complete run-down from his Dad of Jess's version of events. Every word that came out of his Dad's mouth felt like it stabbed Tony in the heart a little. He sobbed when his dad explained how Jess had told Michelle she couldn't handle Sam touching her and Michelle promised Jess she wouldn't be put in that situation again. When his Dad reached the part of Michelle stepping forward and telling Sam to leave Jess alone and take her instead he literally thought he couldn't breathe. For everyone, it was almost impossible to register or try and make sense of their feelings for the situation. The relief of knowing Jess had been protected and not raped was incredible yet at the same time how could you swallow that knowledge knowing it was Michelle that suffered for that result? No one knew yet exactly what had happened with Sam in that room for that time. Everything pointed to the fact that she had been raped but nobody wanted to believe it.

Tony couldn't stand it anymore. He pictured Sam's hands all over Michelle and every possible scenario that could have happened. For a moment he felt a rush of anger towards Michelle for protecting Jess like that but then as quick as it came it passed and was replaced with the deepest love and admiration for her. He ended up yelling at his Dad. He didn't know what he was saying but he just yelled every thought that came to his mind. He screamed at him as he begged his Dad for help – to tell him what the hell he was supposed to do? How was he ever going to get Michelle through this and then it switched from begging his Dad for answers to telling him he was going to kill Sam and Ashley, that he didn't care if he went to jail or what happened but if it was the last thing he did, he was going to kill them for what they had done. He slammed his phone shut and threw it against the wall, it smashed into pieces on the ground. Everyone in the room stood shocked, unsure of what to do. Connor tried to give Tony an injection to calm him down but he got off the bed, started pacing the room and refused it.

Within seconds of hanging up on his Dad, Charlie walked into the room. He didn't care if he was meant to be in there or not, his son needed him and he was going to be in there. They had all been able to hear Tony's voice not only through the phone but also in the hall as the rooms were so close to each other. Natalie and Jess sobbed.

Michelle began to stir from all of the noise. Fortunately, they had finished stitching her wound and cleaning up the burns.

Charlie stood in the doorway and Tony stared at him from the other side of the room, it was like a stare off for a few moments before Tony threw his hands up in the air, "WHAT?"

"I just want to be here for you son, I want to help."

Tony continued to yell. "HELP? What are you going to do Dad? Do you even have any answers for what the hell I am supposed to do?"

Charlie kept his voice as calm as possible. He knew Tony wasn't angry at him personally, he completely understood why Tony was behaving the way he was. He was almost glad to see Tony letting it all out. "What do you need to do Tony?"

Tony stared at him like it was the dumbest question he had been asked. "What the fuck? Let's see...should we start with how I am meant to get Michelle through this?"

"By continuing to do exactly what you have been doing. Staying by her side, talking to her, helping her feel safe again...everything you have been doing, you just continue."

"That's not ENOUGH! It's not good enough..."

He stopped dead in his tracks when he heard Michelle's voice. It was weak and quiet. "Yes it is Tony."

She had surprised everyone. Tony turned and faced her. "No it isn't. I can barely even get you to talk to me. You will never forgive me...you know that right? You will never ever be able to forgive me for making you sit and wait for me in the car. None of this would have happened if I hadn't done that..."

"Stop it Tony, stop it. You thought you were looking out for me. There is nothing to forgive. And I am talking to you..."

His voice was sarcastic. He was completely enraged and out of control. "Oh really...you are? Good to know...then tell me what the hell Sam did to you in that room?"

Charlie said Tony's name to try and make him stop or calm down. The doctor ushered the nurses and everyone else out of the room leaving just the 3 of them. Just after he walked out, Natalie and Jess walked in. Tony turned to see who it was but then focused back on Michelle waiting for an answer. He hated himself inside for how he was acting but he had not the slightest idea of how to stop.

Michelle looked at Jess and then back at Tony. "I didn't sleep with him..."

"Where did he touch you? What did he do?"

Michelle sat up a little. She was angry now and she yelled back at him. "What good can ever come of me telling you or anyone? He didn't touch Jess, that is all that matters!"

"Are you kidding me? You think that is acceptable?"

"Are you angry at me Tony for letting another man touch me?"

"I will fucking kill Sam for touching you."

"Tony...

"Please...please put me out of my fucking misery?"

Michelle hated seeing Tony in this much agony. "I can't baby...I just can't."

His voice dropped a little. "Why?"

Michelle looked down at her body and saw that she wasn't attached to any machines. She slid out of the bed, pulled the blanket off the bed and wrapped it around herself and very slowly made her way to Tony. She heard everyone's voice telling her not to get up but she just ignored them. She reached Tony. "Because I love you too much. I couldn't handle losing you. I know no one believes me but I am telling you I didn't sleep with him...he barely got away with anything but you are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I can't lose you because you will hate me." She pushed passed him and headed for the door.

Charlie reached out for her, "Michelle, Michelle...you can't leave? Where are you going?"

"Out of here. I won't leave the hospital...but..." she looked at all of them as they stared at her. "Away from here." She opened the door and started to walk out. Tony grabbed her arm, "Stay, don't run..."

"Leave me alone."

"Michelle you promised me you wouldn't do this, you wouldn't leave..."

"Well I can't handle this anymore..."

Charlie tried again, "Michelle we will all calm down." He looked at Tony, "no more yelling. You are not well enough to try and be up walking around."

"I'll be fine and look at you all. Everyone is so angry, I've never seen you like this before Tony. I'm not ever going to be able to say the right thing to make you feel better so just leave it alone."

Michelle pushed her way out the door. The second it closed behind her she felt her entire body sway and she wondered what the hell she was going to do. She was really unsteady on her feet but she just needed to be on her own for a minute. She couldn't handle upsetting Tony any longer. The look in his eyes was breaking her heart and she didn't know how to deal with it.

Charlie sent Natalie to watch where Michelle went. Natalie opened the door and saw Michelle walking at a snail's pace down the hall. She stopped after every couple steps and leaned against the wall. She was so clearly struggling. She poked her head back into the door and said to everyone. "She can barely walk, we can't let her do this, no matter how upset she is. She looks like she is going to keel over. Tony, you have to calm down. I'll go and get her."

Tony pushed past his family. "No. I'll get her."

He didn't yell her name, he just walked up behind her. He was about 2 meters away from her when she went down. She just collapsed onto the floor in a heap. He basically dove trying to catch her before she hit the ground but didn't make it in time. He picked himself up and then reached down and picked her up in his arms. She looked up at him and he used one hand to gently push her head so it rested against his chest. He kissed the top of her head and began to walk with her. He only had to go past 2 rooms before he saw one that was empty. He took her in there and closed the door. It was dark but he chose to leave the lights off. He walked to the bed and sat still holding her in his arms. He nuzzled his face into her neck, "I'm sorry I lost it. I am so sorry, I love you so much and I am just so scared right now and I don't know how to handle it. You have to understand sweetheart, there is nothing in the world that would ever make me walk away from you..."

"I don't understand Tony. Aren't you glad that I didn't let Sam touch Jess? That's your baby sister, I thought you would never forgive me...or I'd never forgive myself, if I let him touch her again."

"This situation is almost so impossible to get my head around baby. Of course me and my family will be forever grateful that Jess didn't have to go through that but how...how to ever be able to weigh that up with the fact that instead of Jess going through that it was you...I just don't know how to do that. None of us do. Can you understand that?"

"Yeah but..."

"And Chelle, it is so painful to me to think that you would think for a second that I would have ever been upset or not forgiven you if you hadn't done what you did. You made the most admirable, selfless decision any one could ever make..."

She looked up at him. It was clear she was still very dopey from the medications. Her words were still slurred and drawn out and she looked like she was concentrating so hard on getting her words out. "I promised you. I promised Jess, I'd look after her. If you could have seen the look on her face Tony when she told me how scared and sick she felt when he touched her...I'll never be able to get that out of my head. I didn't want to let you down or her down..."

He could see that she was starting to get very uncomfortable in the position they were in and so he had her lie down on her back and he lay on his side next to her. He made sure their bodies were touching and he kept an arm around her. "You sweetheart, are just so incredible. I've never met anyone in my life that is as selfless and special as you. That your word is so important...that you put everyone else ahead of yourself. There are not many people in the world that could ever be like you and yet most the time I think you don't even realise how special that is, how brave and courageous you are."

"Nobody has ever said the kind of sweet things you say to me Tony."

"I don't know how that is possible baby. I still don't know how I managed to find you...be the luckiest guy in the world to have you."

"Even now, when you know another man has just touched me?"

He could feel his eyes beginning to tear up again. He kissed her and stroked her head. "Oh baby..."

"I mean it Tony. You are the only one in my heart. I said to you that I was yours...I'd never even look at another guy. And now...I feel like I have let you down, betrayed you...I feel so dirty and ashamed, I want to shower and scrub my body till it's raw and get every bit of skin he touched off me..."

Her words were physically making him feel ill. He wanted to crawl inside her head and erase everything and replace it with all of his thoughts of her. He wished there was a way of making any of this just the tiniest bit easier. He didn't think emotionally he had ever been so robbed and drained in his life. The only good thing at the moment was that it was just the 2 of them and they were finally talking, opening up and holding each other. "You didn't betray me, you didn't let me down. You were assaulted, that has got nothing to do with you betraying me. You are a victim baby, the victim of a very sick and disgusting man. You know what I want to do?"

"What?"

"I want to kiss every inch of your skin. I want to replace any part of you he touched with my touch..."

"You really feel that way?"

He kissed her neck, using his tongue all the way from her shoulder up to her ear, then across her cheek to her lips. He opened her mouth and kissed her gently but passionately. Then he picked up her hand and kissed it all over. "I really do. You are mine...I've got you back and I'm never letting go."

"When you said to me before to please put you out of your misery, what did you mean?"

"When you were getting fixed up, you were basically unconscious a lot of the time. I spoke to Dad and he told me everything Jess had said had happened. Everything from the moment you were taken. Things you had said to each other, the way you held each other, from when you were in the boot to the motel...everything that she could remember. I think hearing it all was the hardest thing I have ever heard in my entire life. Every word felt like I was being stabbed in the heart. Then I would look over at you, see the most beautiful, adorable woman out cold, covered in bruises and being stitched up. I felt like I snapped, like it was too painful to think about but then I got angry with myself for thinking about how painful it was for me to hear it when you were the one that lived it. I got the whole story except for the part where you got taken into another room with Sam and Jess didn't know what happened. I started imagining everything under the sun that Sam could have done to you and that is when I really lost it because I didn't know what was real, what wasn't. I said that because I wanted you to help put a stop to my imagination going crazy. I wanted facts, so I could deal with those. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that at all and especially with everyone else around."

There was silence for a few moments as Michelle digested everything he said. She looked into his eyes and she could see that his were searching hers for answers. It made her for the first time be able to put herself in Tony's position and then imagine how she would feel if the situation was reversed. She knew she would be exactly the same way. She would want to know every detail of what Tony had been through, no matter how hard it was too hear.

She took in a huge breath. "I'm going to close my eyes and tell you what happened. If you are not here when I open them, I will completely understand but I get it now. I understand why you need to know because I would be the same way."

"You don't need to close your eyes beautiful because I am not going anywhere, I give you my word." His heart started pounding and his hands were shaking.

"When Sam closed the door behind us he grabbed me and put his hand on my chest and pinned me against the wall. He pressed so hard it felt like his hand was going to go through my chest. He started talking, saying that he thought about fucking me the first time he ever saw me. He asked me if I loved you..." she opened her eyes and looked at him, he was staring back at her with tears running down his cheeks.

"He asked you that?"

"Yeah, I told him that of course I did and that he would never be half the man you were. Then he started asking me questions about our sex life...it was almost like it was a turn on for him."

"Like what kind of questions?"

"Like what position you took me in. If I liked it rough, how I often I had to fake an orgasm with you..."

Tony was shocked. He never imagined that any of this would have happened. "Did you answer him?"

"I lied about just about everything. I didn't want him knowing anything about us and how we are intimate with each other. The only thing I didn't lie to him about was the fact that I never had to fake anything with you." She gave him a tiny smile and he returned it. She went to close her eyes again but he asked her gently to keep looking at him, if she could.

"Then he told me to take my top off and I said no. He would have told me 5 or 6 times and I kept refusing so he said if I didn't do it he would just go and get Jess. I had been trying to push him away but when he said that I finally just dropped my hands. I started to do it but it felt disgusting doing that for him, I guess he got so frustrated that I was taking so long that he ripped at my shirt and then pulled it off. He literally just grabbed the front of my bra and pulled on it so hard until it snapped and fell off. Then I was left standing in front of him like that. He started groping me."

Tony could see she was starting to shake and her breathing was getting faster and faster. He held onto her tighter. Hi voice was broken, "Was he rough with you?"

She nodded her head. Then she began to cry, her words were stuttered and her eyes started looking everywhere, "Yes but not in a passionate rough kind of way. It was just forceful and...And I don't understand Tony how that could have been fun for him? It was just like hurting someone...not a sexual moment. He was twisting me and pulling and squeezing so hard. Why would he be like that?"

Tony was crying with her. "I don't know baby. Maybe it was just because he needed to feel dominate and in control? I don't understand...I'm sorry."

"It's just that when we are together, even if we are rough and get really carried away, it still feels like every touch is full of love and passion and a desire to just be closer and closer to each other. With him, it was like...how hard can I hurt her?"

"Tony stroked her face. "You can't compare baby. What we have is built on love and it is real. This guy knew you hate him, that you didn't want this and the only reason he was even able to touch you was because he was threatening you. It is nothing like you and me."

Michelle nodded her head. It actually felt like it was helping to talk to Tony. His answers helped her understand.

"Are you ok sweetie? I know how hard this is but..."

She put her hand on his chest right over his heart, "You are helping me Tony. I didn't know how to think about this stuff or what it meant but talking it out and hearing your side makes me feel a bit better."

He felt so relieved. Although this was the hardest conversation he had ever had, it was also making him feel even closer to her. "I've never been more in love with you Michelle than I am right this minute...I've never felt closer to anyone in my entire life."

"Me too. I love you."

They watched each other for a few moments. She stroked his chest and he stroked and kissed her head. Then she continued. "The whole time I was trying to figure out how I was going to get out of the situation. I knew I was never going to let him sleep with me, I couldn't. I just didn't know when or how I was going to make a move or over power him. I felt so tired and weak. I could hear the TV blasting from the other room and so I was panicking about what was happening with Ashley and Jess. I didn't want her out there alone with him for too long either. He pulled his top off and took his pants down. Then he pulled mine down. I struggled against him and we kind of wrestled for a few minutes but I lost and he got my pants and underwear down. He grabbed the top of my shoulders and pushed me down onto my knees. You know what he wanted me to do but when he tried to push himself at my face...I...I...threw up. I threw up all over him."

Tony had no idea how to even think about that. It made him feel kind of good that she had done that.

"I bet you can imagine how much that pissed him off. He started slapping me and punching me and I just told him I couldn't help it if the thought of touching him made me puke." She kind of smiled again.

Tony rubbed his nose gently with hers. "I couldn't think of a better way to let a guy know how much he repulses you."

"He pulled me back up and then he stood back and lit a cigarette. He said to me that if I moved an inch he would be done with me and go back to Jess. He wiped himself off with his top. Then he ran his hands down my stomach to...I couldn't stop him Tony..." She burst into tears and kept repeating that she couldn't get his hand away from her. Tony pulled her whole body into his hugging her. He could so easily picture exactly what she was telling him and it hurt like hell. When he heard her say she was sorry that she couldn't stop him he cut her off, "don't say you are sorry, don't you dare apologise for what he did. I love you, you are so strong."

"3 times when he got so pissed off with me for fighting against him he took his cigarette and pushed it into my thigh. He did it until it went out and then he would just light another one."

"That mother fucking bastard. I swear to god..."

"When he did that, that's when I really knew this guy was going to stop at nothing to get what he wanted and he really didn't care how much he hurt me. I knew if he raped me that he would kill me and then Jess would be left alone. So when he stood back up to light the 4th smoke I sat up and punched him as hard as I possibly could in the groin. He screamed and doubled over. I stood up and hit him with my elbow on the back of his neck which made him drop to the ground. He was crying but swearing at me and saying that this was it he was going to kill me so I just kept hitting him. I managed to pull my pants up so that I could use my legs and kick him. I kicked him in the head over and over and over. Then I kicked him in the groin again like 5 times. He looked like he was out so I was going to run but then he started moving again. He could barely talk but he had the scariest look in his eye. I reached for the lamp by the bed and smashed him across the face with it. His head dropped to ground and this time he didn't move. I figured he might even be dead. That's when I opened the door, saw Jess still standing in the same spot I had left her in down the hall. I checked the bathroom window and saw it was big enough for us to crawl through so I mouthed to Jess to tell Ash she had to go to the toilet. From the grunt he gave her I think he was so stoned or out of it he didn't know what the hell was going on. That's when we crawled through the window and ran as fast as we could until the motel was out of sight. And you pretty much know from there."

Tony shook his head in amazement. "You were incredible baby. You stood up for yourself and you literally kicked his ass. You did that, all on your own...you managed to overpower a man and beat him. I am so proud of you. Aren't you proud of yourself for managing to get yourself out of that situation?"

"I'm just so relieved that I didn't let him get any further. I don't know if it was adrenaline or what but when I was punching and kicking him I felt stronger than I ever would have thought I was."

"Baby, you are so strong. You saved your life. You saved Jess and me. Wow!"

They stopped and looked at each other, Tony wiped the tears from her cheeks. "You're still here..."

"And more in love with you than you could ever imagine Chelle..."

Just as he was speaking the door opened and the Connor walked in. "Michelle, Tony! We didn't know where you went. Are you ok?"

Tony sat up a little. "Sorry doc...Connor. We needed a few minutes..."

"That's ok, but your family is very worried. And I really need to check you again Michelle." He walked into the room so he was a little closer to them. "I want to check you over again Michelle and then if you are ready, we will do the ultrasound."

Michelle looked at him confused. "Ultrasound?"

Tony squeezed her hand. "I told Connor you are pregnant and we need to check the baby."

"Ok." She felt very nervous. She didn't think she could handle hearing anything bad about the baby. She would fall apart if something was wrong.

Connor started to walk back towards the door. "I'll send someone with a wheelchair, I don't want you walking back to your room."

Tony sat up. "No need, I'll just carry her back."

He slid off the bed and picked Michelle up in his arms. As they made their way back Tony whispered, "Are you ready for this...everyone, I mean?"

"I guess so. Almeida?"

"Yes?"

"I really want to be able to shower. I need to get him off me, I can still smell him."

"I'll talk to Connor and see what I can do. Thank you for talking to me baby, I know that must have been terrifyingly hard."

"It was the hardest thing but I feel closer to you for it. I love you."

**There you go, pretty long chapter. I hope I managed to get it right, it was very difficult to write. Please let me know what you think. THANKS!**


	14. Chapter 14

**This is a really long chapter. I wrote it a pile of different ways trying to get it right. I hope you like it. As usual not for kids. Thanks for reading...**

Before they even reached the room Tony could hear his family frantically figuring out what the hell to do. Although he couldn't really make out what exactly was being said he could tell that Jess was yelling at his parents and Charlie and Natalie were trying to calm her down but at the same time Natalie was crying. He looked down at Michelle, her face was buried into his chest and he knew she would be hearing it all as well. She looked up at him nervously. He kissed the top of her head and then pushed the door open with his foot and they stepped inside.

Immediately his whole family went quiet and stared at them. Tony carried Michelle over to the bed. This time he sat on the bed and pulled Michelle into his arms. He knew things were going to be hard and he didn't want her trying to make a run for it again. He was about to talk but was surprised to hear Michelle speak up and beat him to it. She was looking around at everyone. "Look at you guys, this is tearing you apart..." She looked at Jess. "Why are you yelling Jess?"

Jess looked a little stunned to be confronted like that. She wondered how much Michelle had heard. She became a little defensive but didn't know what to say, "I'm just...you...I wanted...this..."

Michelle held out her hand for her. Jess slowly walked over and took it and sat on the end of the bed. "Jess, you and I stuck together through hell before. We did that to get out of it alive and so we could be back with your family. You were amazing."

Jess shook her head. "That's bullshit Chelle..."

Charlie stepped forward, "Jess..."

"No, I'm serious. Look at what this has done Michelle. Look at what it is doing to you and Tony. God knows what you went through and all for what? All because I got involved with an asshole. I got you all dragged into this fucking mess and yet somehow it was you, Michelle that suffered the consequences of my problem!"

Michelle's voice was raised a little as well. "You didn't exactly get off free Jess. That had to have been the scariest experience of your life. AND it wasn't your fault. How are you responsible for Sam's actions?"

"Because I was the one that went out with him..."

"That is not what I asked. Tell me, look me in the eye and tell me how you are responsible for Sam's actions?"

Jess held Michelle's stare for a good minute or so before she finally dropped it and mumbled. "I don't know but..."

"No buts Jess! I dare you to try and come up with one reason of how you are responsible for what he did. We are never going to get through this if you can't accept that."

Charlie and Natalie were impressed beyond belief. They had just spent all the time Tony and Michelle were gone arguing the same point with Jess but neither one of them had gotten anywhere, if anything they had just made her more angry. Yet Michelle, in a matter of a few words had gotten Jess to stop and think. When she couldn't come up with an answer it looked like for the first time maybe some the of the weight was being lifted off her shoulders.

Finally Jess looked up at Michelle again. Her voice was quiet now, shaky. "How will I ever accept what happened to you though? Even if I couldn't have stopped Sam, if I hadn't bought him into your life, you would never have gone through this."

Tony spoke up this time. "Jess, I don't think any of us will ever accept it but we will have to find a way learning to deal with it. I know that sounds like an easy answer or lame but it is the truth. Things happen and when you can't control other people's actions then you have to find a way of accepting certain situations. You had done the right thing by breaking up with Sam. Michelle and I had done the right thing by coming to your apartment that day. So many things could have changed what happened but no one knew what we were walking into. If we hadn't kept you guys back late for telling you the news about the baby, if we hadn't driven to the house. If the police had gotten there sooner. If I had let Michelle come into the house with me instead of making her stay in the car...we could go on forever about all the what-if's but the bottom line is it happened. Michelle and I will never ever regret coming to your house that day when Sam showed up..." He looked at Michelle and she nodded that she agreed.

"Yeah but look at you guys. Look at mum and dad. Everyone is a mess. I don't know how to deal with this..."

Natalie put her arm around Jess. "We are all like this sweetie because we all love each other so much. We are all in pain because we are scared and we want each other to be alright. That is a good thing."

Charlie joined them. "There is going to be a lot of up and downs with this as we try and get our heads around it and recover from it. There is going to be yelling, crying...a lot more of all of this but that is how we are going to get through it. That is the only way we are going to get through it."

Jess nodded her head like some of it was slowly sinking in. Charlie looked at Michelle. "Chelle, I know when things are so intense it makes you feel like you want to run away but you need to start counting on us and letting us try and help you."

"I try but I'm not use to all this. I'm not use to having a family around. I'm use to having to deal with a problem on my own and when I feel like that I panic and I don't know what to do."

"You have us now. We can all help you through this. I promise you we will not let you down Michelle..."

"But you all have each other to worry about. It's not your responsibility to have to make me feel better..."

All 4 of them said her name at the same time. She looked a bit shocked. Tony tightened his grip on her. "You are my responsibility. How could you ever ever think that...?"

Michelle became all nervous. "I didn't mean it like that. I just...I don't know, I'm not...I just want you guys to be ok..."

Natalie cut Michelle off. "I'm sorry Michelle but you saved my daughter's life. You have shown my Jessica how brave and strong she can be. You have been the best thing that has ever happened to Tony. I've never seen my son as happy as he is with you. I've never seen him more passionate, devoted and emotionally open as he is with you. And now you are the mother of our first ever grandchild. I love you. Charlie loves you. Jess loves you – I think the two of you will share a bond for life after that experience and Tony...well you know how much Tony loves you so all of that makes you just as much a part of this family as any of us. And in this family we are all responsible for each other."

Tears made their way down Michelle's cheeks as she listened to Natalie. She went to speak but nothing but sobs came out. Natalie went to Michelle and leaned down so they were able to hug. They held each other so tightly. Tony kept his hand on Michelle's back for support as she sat up a little. He had tears in his own eyes. His mum had worded it perfectly and it looked like it had gotten through to Michelle. Once Natalie was done hugging Michelle she got a big one from Charlie who kissed her on the top of her head and told her he loved her and one from Jess. Jess thanked Michelle and they both told each other they loved each other.

Everything got interrupted by Connor walking back into the room. "Sorry to interrupt but I need to get this ultrasound done, give Michelle some pain medication and do another check over."

Charlie suggested that he, Natalie and Jess step outside the room for a few minutes.

Tony stayed and held Michelle's hand whilst Connor did the ultrasound. She had gone very quiet. Tony leaned in and kissed her. "No matter what the result sweetheart, we will get through this, ok?"

She just nodded her head. She was trying to think about any blows she had taken to her stomach. Mostly it had been hits and kicks on her arms, head and legs apart from the wound on her side. She thought she would fall apart if she had lost Tony's baby. The room felt so quiet as they Connor did the test and Michelle and Tony just stared at the screen, neither one of them knew what they were looking at. It was such early days it wasn't like there was a clearly visible baby to see.

After what felt like hours, Connor turned to them and smiled, "Baby looks fine to me. I think you have been really lucky on this one but from what I can tell everything looks normal."

Tony kissed Michelle and then shook Connor's hand. "Thank you, thank you, that is the best news." He turned back to Michelle, "We are still going to be parent's sweetheart!"

She let out the breath of air she had been holding and reached up and hugged Tony. She totally forgot about her side and so when she sat up and stretched herself out to reach him it pulled on the stitches and the wound. Connor could see what was going to happen as she did it and at the same time that he put his hand out to stop her and called her name, Michelle screamed out in pain. Tony had no idea what had just happened and just about had a heart attack when he heard her scream and Connor shout.

Michelle began to drop from his arms and he struggled to hold onto her. Once he caught onto what was going on he panicked about where to hold her and what to do. Connor had jumped up and was now holding the other side of Michelle. He instructed Tony on how to slowly get her lying down again. As they went to move her Michelle cried out in pain again. "Please not yet...wait...just give me a second."

Tony kissed her head and tried to soothe her. Then Connor said they had to do this because the longer she was like this the worse it was going to be. He promised Michelle he would get her pain medication as soon as he got her lying down again. They both supported all of her weight as she lay back down. Tears streamed down her face and as soon as she was down Connor pressed for a nurse.

Natalie, Charlie and Jess all walked back in to see Tony hovering over Michelle trying to soothe her whilst she whimpered in pain. A nurse rushed in past them and Connor asked her to get a pain injection. Charlie rushed over to Michelle. "What's happened?"

Tony told his Dad that Michelle had sat up too quickly and pulled on her wound. Charlie used a medical word back and that made Connor ask if he was a doctor. Charlie told him he was a surgeon and then Connor went into more detail with Charlie over Michelle's wound. Tony almost smiled to himself as he watched how within a second the conversation became one he could barely understand as the babbled in their doctor lingo. He kept stroking Michelle's forehead. When the nurse came back in with the injection, Connor gave it to Michelle straight away. Then he asked everyone but Tony to step outside so he could check on the wound.

Tony helped Connor with Michelle's gown and luckily everything was still intact. The area had gone quite red but other than that it was alright. Within minutes Michelle became very sleepy and then nodded off to sleep. Tony was surprised at how quickly she fell asleep but Connor assured him it was ok, he had just given Michelle some very powerful stuff. Tony sat back down next to her and held her hand.

* * *

After Michelle had been asleep for half an hour, Charlie suggested to Tony that whilst she was asleep maybe they could all walk down and get a coffee and something to eat. Tony didn't want to leave Michelle but after some negotiating he agreed to go for the walk as long as they were quick and bought the drinks back. He wanted to talk to his family anyway so this was a good time.

Normally he would never have approached the situation in this way but after everything they had all been through together it seemed fitting. When he was with his family he stopped them outside the cafeteria. He blurted out that he wanted to marry Michelle. He wanted to ask her now. He was talking so fast they all struggled to keep up. He told them that he had been biting his tongue from asking Michelle this whole time but he couldn't wait any longer. His mother had been keeping hold of his grandmother diamond ring as an air loom and he wanted to combine that diamond with another one and have a ring made up for Michelle but he also didn't want to wait that long to ask her. They all hugged him and told him it was the best decision he would ever make. Everyone was so excited. Tony asked their opinions if they thought it would be ok if he did it now without the ring. They all told him that he should go for it. He was so excited. This whole time, every time he went to comfort Michelle or they talked about 'looking after each other' he wanted to ask her to be his wife. He wanted her to officially be a part of his family. He knew it was quick but with what they had been through, he couldn't imagine his life without Michelle in it.

* * *

Michelle opened her eyes with a fright. She had been having a nightmare. She was sweating and breathing very heavily. She was surprised to see she was the only one in the room but quickly figured that they must have all just gone for food or something. She lay staring at the ceiling thinking. She felt revolting, now that she was sweating she felt even worse. No matter how hard she tried to think about the good things, like the fact she was back with Tony and that the baby was ok her mind kept taking her back to Sam and what had happened. It made her skin crawl. She felt like she could still smell him, still feel him on her. She was so agitated it was impossible to feel comfortable. She needed to shower, she wanted to scrub every inch of her body until he was gone. She wanted to wash the smell of smoke and his scent out of her hair. She knew the doctor might not approve but she didn't care, no one understood how she was feeling right now. She needed to feel clean before she could even think about feeling better. She had tears running down her cheeks and the more she thought, the worse she felt. She slowly slid out of the bed and made her way to the bathroom.

* * *

Tony approached the room with butterflies. He hadn't figured out exactly when or how he was going to ask Michelle, he just knew it was going to be very soon. They all made sure to be very quiet as they entered the room in case she was still sleeping. The lights were off so it took a moment for Tony to see Michelle wasn't in her bed, he turned and saw that the bathroom light was on, the door was shut and he could hear the shower running. His heart dropped.

Charlie dropped the sandwiches he had in his hand. "No...No way...she wouldn't...there is..."

He didn't get to finish as Connor walked in, saw them all standing there in shock, "What's going on?"

Tony was shaking his head. "Michelle is in the shower?"

"WHAT?"

"She begged me before to ask you if she could wash up she was..." he was conscious of how to word it but it didn't matter because Connor knew what he was getting at, they all did.

"Tony, she is not well enough." He walked over to the door and called Michelle's name.

They heard her voice; it was quiet and very obvious that she was crying. "I'll be out in a minute."

Connor tried the door but she had locked it. "Michelle, you can't do this. You are not well enough, especially to be on your own without telling anyone."

"Please just...I'm fine. I have to shower."

"Unlock the door."

"No."

"You can't have the door locked Michelle. I know you think this is going to make you feel better but it won't. Unlock the door."

"It will make me feel better, you don't understand. I'm not unlocking the door. I'll be out soon."

Connor looked back at Tony. "You need to get her out of there. I don't trust her in there on her own."

"I'll talk to her, I'll go in. I should have just listened to her before. She begged me that she needed to get 'him' off her..."

Connor's voice was really strong and assertive; nothing like it had been before. "I'm getting the nurses, they can unlock the door..."

Jess didn't really understand why Connor was so freaked out by the situation. "Why can't we just let her shower?"

"Jess, I don't mean to sound rough here but Michelle is not in a stable frame of mind to..."

"What? What are you worried about?"

Charlie put his arm around Jess. "Connor is worried that Michelle will hurt herself."

"Michelle wouldn't hurt herself, what are you talking about?"

Charlie was trying to keep his voice down in case Michelle could hear. "Not intentionally. When people go through an experience like she just has they feel like they need to wash their body to get rid of the feelings associated with it and the smell. But they often end up scrubbing their skin raw because it never feels clean enough."

Jess looked horrified.

Tony went to the door. "Sweetheart, will you let me in?"

He could hear her crying and it broke his heart. He had to ask again before she answered. "Can you just give me a couple minutes and I'll come out? Please?"

"Michelle, they are going to come and unlock the door and come and get you if you don't open up. I'm sorry baby..."

"WHAT? They can't do that! I have a right to privacy."

"They will come in Michelle..."

She yelled but her voice was broken with sobs, "Stop them Tony! I'm begging you don't let them come in. I just need a few minutes. I need everyone to leave me alone!"

"They are worried about you. I am worried about you."

Tony turned and looked at Connor as they waited for her to answer. Connor kept his voice down. "Tony, even I can hear it in her voice, she is not ok. A patient that has been through what Michelle has just been through would never be allowed to get up in her condition and have a shower without supervision and the door locked. I am worried about what she is..."

Tony stopped him. "I know, don't say it. I know. Get me the key and I'll go in, ok?"

Connor left the room. Jess stood shocked at hearing the sadness and desperation in Michelle's voice. Charlie and Natalie were standing ready to help in any way possible. Tony felt sick. He knew that Connor was worried that not only could Michelle hurt herself because she was so unstable but that she was also a candidate for hurting herself because of the emotional pain she was in. He could hear in her voice that she wasn't right and he cursed himself for leaving her. For letting her wake up without him there and giving her time to think and do this. He tried once more. "Please baby, come out."

"No. I'm not done." She sounded angry which made him even more concerned.

Connor reappeared with the key. He handed it to Tony. Tony told everyone to step out of the room so they had privacy. He promised to press the button if he needed help. They all left the room. Tony took a deep breath and unlocked the door and opened it. As he opened it, Michelle jumped to the other side.

"Who is that? What are you doing?"

"It's me baby, just me." He pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The room was full of steam to the point he could barely see a foot in front of him. Michelle had moved behind the shower curtain. She put her head out the side. Her face was red and swollen. Her voice was the most vulnerable he had ever heard her. "Tony...please just give me a minute."

He stepped closer to her. His stomach was in knots. She was not ok. "I love you Michelle. I know what you are trying to do but..."

"What?"

He simply walked over and stepped inside the other side of the curtain under the water. She didn't know where to go or what to do, she was stuck and exposed. Tony looked and could see that Michelle had been scrubbing all of her skin so much that she was completely red, she had some parts that looked almost raw and even areas where she had scrubbed so hard she was bleeding. He burst into tears, he was utterly devastated.

Michelle thought Tony was going to grab her and pull her out but she didn't feel done. She didn't feel like she had gotten Sam off of her yet. She still didn't feel clean and she hadn't even gotten to her hair yet. She panicked and stepped back under the water and started to keep scrubbing. She felt Tony's arms wrap around her and his hand went for the washers she had but she held on tight. "Its ok baby, you are clean. Give me the brush." Michelle felt her body start to shake. She didn't feel clean. She still felt like her skin was crawling. Why couldn't Tony understand and just let her do what she needed to do. "Stop it Tony...leave me alone, stop it." She hadn't noticed what she had done to herself. She could barely see through the tears, water and steam. Her body stung but it was almost like the pain helped her to know which parts of her body were getting clean. She wrestled with him over the washer. She wasn't giving it up. She couldn't believe Tony had unlocked the door and come in. That he was standing fully clothed under the water fighting her for a stupid washer. "What are you doing Tony? Why are you doing this?"

Tony hadn't really used any force yet with Michelle of course, he didn't want to hurt her but he was very surprised at how much she was willing to fight for the washer. "It's not going to make you feel better baby, you are just hurting yourself. This isn't going to help you."

"Yes it is. It is helping. I'm just trying to get clean Tony, that's all."

Tony finally used his strength to completely over power her. He wrapped his arms around hers and pinned them to her body, then he used his hand to make her drop the washer. Once it had fallen to the ground he kept holding her. She had resisted for a few moments but it was clear very quickly that he was willing to use as much strength as he had to and she had no hope. They were both soaking wet and the water was pounding on them. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know what to say or how to make her feel better, he was out of his depth and it scared the hell out of him. He couldn't believe how rough he had just had to be with her and he could see how incredibly shocked she was that he had done that. Other than the sound of the water pounding on them there was silence for a few moments. The most powerful silence in the world. He hated not knowing the solution to a problem or how to fix something and he felt like he was letting her down by not knowing what to do. She had stopped trying to fight him, she knew she had no hope and she had no strength. Over the water he barely heard her say, "I'm not going to try and run anywhere Tony...I've got nowhere to go"

He loosened his grip on her and then bent down and picked up the washer and turned the water off. He went to grab a towel. He couldn't take his eyes off her. He had never seen her look this vulnerable, it was completely overwhelming. He was panting and tears were still streaming down his cheeks. He went too wrap the towel around her, but he felt like he couldn't even dry her because it was going to hurt too much. Didn't she feel the pain?

"It was just a shower! Why can't I even take a fucking shower? You don't understand how I feel. You don't know what this feels like. All I wanted was to feel clean..."

"Look at you! Look at you Michelle. You were scrubbing your skin so hard you're bleeding and have scratches. I do understand, I do!"

They were yelling. "If you understood you would help me. If you had to barge in here then you could have helped me. Let me just stand under the water for another minute, let me wash my fucking hair!"

"NO! I am helping you, I'm trying to help you. You are clean from him Chelle. He is not touching you anymore...it's just me...it's just me."

They stared at each other. He so desperately wanted to just wrap her up in his arms but she was really angry and upset. She didn't understand, she really couldn't see what was happening. He watched as her eyes dropped and she looked down at herself. It felt like someone had stuck a dagger in his heart and just continued to twist it around as he watched her realise what she had done. He could tell she was seeing for the first time the redness, the scratches and the blood. Her body began to shake and her face scrunched up as she started to sob. "I just wanted him off me."

He figured now was the time she would let him place the towel on her. He ever so gently put it on her shoulders and then he kissed her forehead, "I know sweetheart, I know."

She took the towel from her shoulders and began to dry herself. He would have so gently touched each spot but she tried to just do it quick. He went to help her but she pulled back. "Careful with yourself baby."

He couldn't even take off his own top and give it to her because he was soaking wet himself. He had her stand in the corner out of site as he opened the door and asked someone to grab something for Michelle to put on. He heard her ask for a top so he asked if there was anything besides the gown. Jess ran off to get find something.

His Dad asked how they were going. Tony gave his dad a look like 'not good' and then said quietly. "When we get some dry clothes, I'll get you to check Michelle's arms and legs."

He closed the door again and looked back at Michelle who looked like she was huddled in the corner. She looked up at him.

"I'm sorry I didn't speak to the doctor earlier about getting you a shower Chelle."

"It doesn't matter."

It did matter. It mattered so much. She didn't look angry anymore, she just looked lost and sad like she didn't know what to say or do.

"I would never have left if I thought you were going to wake up that quickly. What happened baby?"

She shook her head. "It wasn't that, I told you, I can feel him on me still. I can smell smoke and his scent in my hair. It feels like my skin is crawling. I just needed a shower."

Jess ran all the way to the gift shop at the hospital on the next level. She spotted boxer shorts and pyjama type tops. The boxer shorts were men's but at least the tops were ok. Knowing Michelle needed loose fitting clothes, she bought large ones. She ran back as quickly as she could and knocked on the door and handed them to Tony, "Sorry this is all I could find."

Tony thanked Jess, closed the door and went over to Michelle. He helped her get into the shorts and top. She was quiet and she looked like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. "Chelle..."

"I don't understand Tony. I'm not a child. I've been through some pretty nasty situations with work you know and I have had to deal with them and look after myself. Now, I can't even take a shower without everyone going crazy?"

"You have never gone through anything like this before at work baby. This is so completely different. Remember that case with the Peterson woman Chelle? She had been assaulted and taken into CTU medical and it was you that was so worried about her that you went down to look after her and make sure she was ok. I remember very clearly she tried to leave so she could shower and be on her own and you wouldn't let her..."

Michelle was surprised Tony had bought that up. She hadn't even thought about it. "Well you know what? I was wrong back then. Now I know what she must have felt like and I should have let her do whatever it was she needed to do to feel better."

"No, you were right back then Chelle. I know you understand from training that you made the right call then. You looked after that woman and she was ok. I fell even more in love with you that day as I watched you care for that woman. Right now, you are not thinking clearly about everything and that is totally understandable but that is why I had to barge in like that. You are not..."

"I'm not at work now! I don't care what the right protocol is or not. I just want to feel clean...to feel better."

"And do you? Do you feel better?"

Michelle stared at him as he challenged her. She hated this. She couldn't think straight because of the medication and she didn't feel like she was ever going to win no matter what she said. No, she didn't feel better but maybe if she had just been left alone for long enough, left to take a proper shower, she would.

Tony wasn't going to push Michelle to answer him. He knew that she couldn't answer him with a 'Yes'. He wondered if he was wrong to have bought up that old case, he thought it would make her remember and see that he had just done exactly what she would do but all it seemed to have done was question her judgement on how she had handled that case.

She didn't answer him. She slid down the wall slowly and sat on the ground. She seemed defeated and confused. Tony opened the door now that she was changed and Charlie came in. "Hey Chelle."

She looked up at him and forced a small small, "Hi Charlie."

He walked over to her. He could see why Tony looked so devastated now that he could see Michelle. It wasn't so much the physical side, it was how it showed how she was feeling emotionally that hurt so much. He had a hard time keeping it together but he gently touched her ankle, "You are bleeding a little Chelle, mind if I just check you?"

"I don't mind but I'm ok really."

He ran his hand near a couple patches on the top of her knee and thigh where she had scrubbed so hard it looked a little raw. "Does it hurt?"

"Charlie you must see some pretty bad situations with your work. How do you know that you are always doing the right thing when you are treating them?"

He was a little confused as to where this was coming from because he hadn't really heard her conversation with Tony. "I guess I don't always know. Sometimes you just have to follow your instincts and hope you are getting it right."

"I think there are times at work when I follow the rules, not my gut instinct...and it has been wrong."

Tony was still standing behind his Dad listening. He waited to see how his Dad responded.

"You are only human Chelle. No one is ever going to get it right all the time but I am sure you always do your best and that's what counts the most."

She was nodding her head as she listened to him. It was clear she was trying to take it in but she was struggling to make sense of her feelings. "My Dad always use to tell me to..." She couldn't get it out before she burst into tears. Charlie put his arms around her and hugged her. He spoke gently, "I bet you're really missing your Dad right now." He felt her nod her head and then grip on to him even harder.

After a minute Charlie noticed that Michelle was ever so slightly shifting different parts of her body, like she was in pain but not ready to let go of him even though it hurt. "Let me help you Chelle, I can tell you are in pain."

Michelle didn't realise that Tony hadn't left the room and was still behind her. "I feel like my skin is crawling because I can't stop thinking about Sam. That's why I need to shower...why I need to be clean. What else am I supposed to do?"

Charlie wished he could take away what Michelle was feeling. He looked over her shoulder at Tony and they gave each other a look of guilt that they didn't have an answer for her. "Charlie, I don't want to upset Tony anymore than I already have but I need you to tell me what I'm supposed to do?"

Tony stepped in closer and touched her hand, making her pull back. "Sweetheart, I don't want you worrying about me."

She looked shocked that Tony was there. Charlie pulled back as well and let Tony step in closer. "Sorry Tony...I'm sorry."

"Hey hey...come here, why are you saying sorry?"

"That you got wet, that I did the wrong thing even though I should know better..."

"Michelle, I didn't say that stuff because I was upset with you for what you did, I was just trying to help you understand why I was behaving that way. You were so upset with me for not letting you finish showering..."

"Because it was the only thing I could think of Tony. You stopped me from doing the only thing I could think of that might make this feeling go away."

"Baby, I freaked out. I don't want you to feel like this, I'd do anything to make it go away but I know scrubbing your skin off isn't going to work and all it is going to do is cause you more pain."

There had been no shampoo in the shower and Michelle hadn't had time to scrub her hair. It was sopping wet but she could still smell cigarette smoke and other scents she was relating to Sam. She held the end of her hair out, "Smell it, I'm not going crazy Tony, I can smell him...I can smell smoke in my hair. It is revolting. Can't you? Don't you want any trace of him gone?"

Tony leaned in and smelt her hair. She was right, he could make out a very faint smell of smoke. "I never thought you were crazy baby, no one does...we all understand exactly what you were trying to do. I just..." He looked at her and he wanted to give her what she wanted. If he could smell the smoke then he could be sure as hell the smell would be amplified to her. He looked at his Dad. "I can smell smoke and I want to help Chelle wash her hair. If that is going to help, then we need to do it."

Charlie agreed with Tony. "Ok but this has to be done right. I'll get the girls to go and get some shampoo and everything and I'll talk to the doctor." He looked at Michelle. "You have to let Tony help you."

Michelle shed a tear in relief. "Thank you. Thank you."

As Charlie left the room, Tony put his arm around Michelle and kissed her forehead. They stayed close and held each other. After a couple minutes Tony began to talk. "Sweetheart, if you will let me, there are other things I can do to try and help. I can't take away everything but I can be here with you and help you."

"How are you though Tony?"

"What do you mean?"

"None of this is easy on you. I've never seen you so distressed before. I hate what this is doing to you. I want to help you feel better as well."

"Every time you let me in baby, I feel a bit better. All I care about and want is for you to be ok. I just need to be close to you. I'm sick of feeling like I am going to lose you and I need to be with you."

"I need to be with you to Tony. You make me feel better. You won't lose me, I promise."

They looked at each other and smiled. Then Michelle said with a tiny laugh, "I never knew how strong you are!"

"What do you mean?"

"When you took the washer off me..."

"Did I hurt you?" Tony looked panicked.

She put her hand on his chest. "No. I could just tell as soon as you held me like that I had no hope of ever getting out of your grip. You are really strong...big muscles!" She smiled at him to reassure him she was saying it in a good way.

Finally he gave her his cheeky grin back and spoke with a bit of a sarcastic tone. "Well...you know how much I work out..."

They both laughed a little. "I love you Tony."

After what felt like a long time Charlie returned with a bag of things. "Ok, I spoke with Connor. He is happy for Tony to wash your hair, but under no circumstances are you to be left alone. As soon as you are done, you need to be back in the bed so he can do a set of obs and check you out. Ok?"

They both nodded. "Thanks Charlie."

"Of course. Ok, Chelle...Natalie and Jess picked out some scented shampoo and conditioner for you along with some body wash and some more dry clothes for you both. One of us will drive home and pick you both up some of your own clothes soon but these will have do for now."

Tony looked at the top and shorts from the gift shop and laughed, "Sooner rather than later on the clothes would be good."

Charlie smiled and then told them he would leave them to it. When he had closed the door behind him, Tony whispered into Michelle's ear, "Do you kinda get the feeling it's like we are kids again getting orders from dad?"

She laughed. "Yes! But your dad is amazing."

Tony took his own wet clothes off and then helped Michelle out of the top and shorts she was in. "The water is going to sting sweetheart."

"I don't care."

He helped her back over to the shower. After he turned it on he stood behind her, he kissed her on the shoulder. "Alright sweetheart - I'm in charge. I don't want you touching the washer or anything. You let me do this for you...deal?"

"Deal."

Tony washed Michelle's hair for her 3 times with the shampoo before she was ready to move onto the conditioner. He felt so good being so close to her and having her seem so much more content. He couldn't believe the difference in her demeanour already. He could tell the water was stinging her body but she didn't seem to care, nothing seemed to matter more than getting as much water and soap on her as possible. He was surprised at how good it felt himself to have a shower. He held her close the entire time and when she would turn and kiss him and thank him he could feel his heart recovering a little. They used half a bottle of the body wash and they even joked that they were both going to smell of nothing but strawberries when they were done.

Michelle ran her hand over the stitches on his thigh, "does it hurt?"

"Nah, it's ok. I was lucky it just grazed me."

"Looks like more than just a graze Tony."

"I don't want you worrying about it baby. It will heal in no time, they have given me stuff for pain. Honestly, it is ok."

She looked up at him, she wasn't convinced but didn't have the energy to push it. He noticed that she was starting to look very pale and becoming more and more unsteady on her feet. He was holding her but it felt like he had to keep tightening his grip on her or else she would stumble. "I think you have had enough sweetheart. I need to get you back into bed."

"When can we go home?"

"I don't know baby. Soon I hope but I don't want you to leave until you are ready.'

* * *

Natalie had taken Jess home to shower and change and then they were going to drop by Tony and Michelle's apartment and pick up clothes for them. Charlie had stayed behind. Tony's phone had been ringing non-stop for the last 10 minutes and he figured it must be important and so he answered it. It was Michelle's lawyer, Luke. He had been trying to get hold of Tony to let him know that Doug was now out. Charlie thanked him and hung up the phone, he slumped down into a chair. He was so torn. He knew they needed to know but with everything else was going on he didn't want to add to their stress. He was really worried about Michelle. The shower incident had only proved how vulnerable she was right now. He didn't know yet what Sam had done to Michelle but he knew enough by her injuries and behaviour it wasn't good. He was having trouble trying to comprehend the feeling of relief that his own daughter had not been assaulted but at the same time knowing Michelle had been to protect her. It instantly made him feel a very powerful 'fatherly' protection over Michelle. He liked that she seemed comfortable with him. When she opened up to him in the bathroom and hugged him it had felt really good. He wanted to be there for her and the fact that she was allowing him to be was a very good start.

The police stopped by the room and asked if they would be able to get a statement from Michelle. He told them that she wasn't up to it today, could it possibly wait at least until tomorrow. He asked what was happening with Sam and Ashley. He was dumbfounded to find out that Sam was being held in the same hospital only one floor away. He had been pretty badly injured but was stable and would be ok. Ashley had already been released on bail by his parents. Charlie felt sick. Even more news he had to tell Michelle and Tony. When were these 2 going to get a break? He sat racking his brain for all the things he could possibly do to help them both. He called his secretary and explained he had had a family crisis and she was going to have to re-arrange his entire schedule for at least a week. She had seemed surprised, as a surgeon that was not an easy task. He wasn't in the mood to go into detail, he just told her to get it done, and he wasn't able to be at work for the week.

* * *

Tony had managed to get himself dressed into the boxers and top and was now trying to help Michelle. She was getting weaker and weaker. She was so grateful to him for helping her like that, she couldn't stop thanking him. He just wished he had pushed the point earlier so they had never had to go through this in the first place. He was so use to seeing victims of assault and all kinds of situations and he never had a problem knowing what to do but when it involved someone he loved so much it felt so completely different. In some ways he felt like all of his training and knowledge had left him and he was trying to just take each minute as it came and learn along the way.

He looked at his watch. It was 11:30am. He didn't feel tired though, his body was full of adrenalin. Once he pulled the top over Michelle's head, he opened the door and asked his Dad to help. Charlie rushed in. He was shocked to see how much paler Michelle looked. Her eyes were having trouble focusing and he could see if Tony wasn't supporting her, she would be falling down. "We need to get you back in to bed."

She nodded. Charlie helped Tony pick Michelle up and take her back into the room and to the bed. "Thanks Charlie. Thank you for listening to me and for helping me."

"Anything I can do Michelle, you just let me know. Do you feel better?"

"So much better."

He scanned her arms and legs and wondered how the hell she could feel better at all but he knew she didn't mean physically. The doctor in him wanted to inspect every mark on her body. He didn't want to step on Connor's toes but he knew Michelle felt more comfortable with him. Now that he knew Sam was in the Sam hospital, the thought crossed his mind to either have Michelle transferred to his hospital under his care of have her be released into his care at home.

Connor walked in and was happy to see Michelle back in the bed. He was not happy to see how pale she was and the marks on her arms and legs. He took her blood pressure, temperature and gave her an injection for pain. He told them that they would put some cream on her legs and arms and bandage some of the areas. Once he had left the room Charlie asked Tony to sit down, he needed to talk to them both.

Tony took Michelle's hand in his and sat. His Dad looked very nervous and he wondered what he could possibly be about to say. "What's wrong Dad?"

"Your phone was ringing non-stop so I ended up answering it. It was Luke, he was trying to reach you both to let you know that Doug was released this morning."

Michelle had forgotten about Doug the last 12 hours with everything else that had happened. She could feel her heart begin to race.

Tony became angry. "Fucking hell. I had forgotten that was this morning with everything else."

"That's not all kids. The police stopped by to see if Michelle could do her statement, I put them off until tomorrow but I did find out that Sam is being treated here at this hospital as well. He was in bad shape but is stable."

Tony's eyes became enraged. "Where is he?"

"I don't know the room, I was just told on the next floor. You can't do anything Tony!"

Michelle looked like she was starting to panic. "He is here? Why would they bring him to the same place?"

"I don't know Chelle. You are safe though. He would be under police protection and we are all here."

Tony was pacing the room. He wanted to go and pound the guy. It was far too tempting having him so close. He just wanted 5 minutes alone with the guy.

Charlie became nervous as he watched Tony's body literally puff up and a look of rage spread across his face. He got ready to have to pounce on Tony at any second if he tried to leave the room. Then when he looked back at Michelle he saw her trying to remove the covers like she was about to get out of the bed. "Chelle, please don't get up."

"I have to. I can't stay here. I won't stay here. None of you can be here. It is too dangerous. He threatened all of you..."

"But he can't get to you Michelle. The police won't let him move and the second he is well enough he will be taken to jail."

She was shaking her head. Fear radiated through her body.

Tony's voice was loud, assertive and angry. "What about that Ashley guy?"

Charlie sighed. "He was released on bail by his parents."

Tony threw his hands up in the air. "What the fuck? How the hell did he make bail? He kidnapped a federal agent?"

"I don't know. We all need to try and stay calm though and talk this through." He knew his words were lost on them. Tony was furious and pacing the room and Michelle was doing her best to try and get out of the bed but the medication was clearly making it really hard for her to co-ordinate her body to do what she wanted. She became more and more frustrated.

Connor walked into the room and saw Michelle struggling to get up. "Michelle? What are you doing?"

Her words were slurred. "I have to go. Sam is here."

Connor sighed. He had specifically asked the police not to tell Michelle because of course it would send her into a panic. "He is locked down Michelle, he isn't going anywhere. You can't get up."

She stunned everyone in the room when she yelled back at him. "Why didn't you tell us? How could you let me think I was safe here and yet _that man_ is just a floor away? And Ashley is out!"

"I knew it would panic you and I didn't want to upset you if I didn't have to."

"Well Ashley can come and see him you know. He can be walking around the hospital. How long do you think it will be before Sam knows...unless he already does?"

"Ashley wouldn't dare come to the hospital..."

Michelle's frustration was clear in her voice. "We work with people like this every day! You have no idea how stupid people can be. You can't ever assume someone else's actions...especially when they are desperate."

Tony had moved back over next to Michelle. She wasn't getting anywhere fast and he was ready to stop her if she actually got to the point of getting off the bed but he agreed with her. How could anyone expect her to be ok with this?

Connor was stumped. It was true that Ashley could come to the hospital. "Would you feel better if I put security on your door?"

"I'm not staying doctor. No one can make me stay."

"You are right, I can't force you to stay but Michelle you are not well enough to leave. You need to hear me when I tell you we can keep you safe."

Before he knew what was happening, he heard Tony say he was sorry and then he ran out of the room before he or Charlie could stop him. Charlie tripped getting up off the chair and Tony made it out the door and by the time Charlie got outside he couldn't see him. He ran back to Connor. "You need to warn the security on Sam NOW!"

Connor bolted out of the room. Charlie turned around just in time to see Michelle lean to the side and then tumble out of the bed onto the floor. He rushed to her. She looked shocked but she was on a mission to try and keep moving however the medication was making it impossible for her to do what she wanted. She kept squinting her eyes trying to focus, she was shaking and her bottom lip was quivering, ready to cry. "Michelle, look at me. Look at me."

She looked up at him barely. "Are you ok? Are you hurt anywhere?"

"I have to get Tony..."

"Security will stop him and bring him back. I need to make sure you are ok."

"Charlie you...you don't understand. Tony's the best we've got. He can outsmart a hospital security guard. He knows how to do stuff he can..." She was mumbling and it was hard for Charlie to completely understand what she was saying. His heart was pounding, the repercussions of Tony doing anything to Sam would be huge. He was well too aware of his son's temper and the amount of pain and rage Tony felt over what Sam had done was more than enough to cloud Tony's judgement. He prayed the officers guarding Sam would be able to calm him down.

He looked down at Michelle and felt sick. He wanted to just pick her up and hold her tight and let her know that everything would be alright. He picked her up and she struggled a little as he put her back on the bed. He wrapped his arms around her. "It's going to be ok...it's going to be ok." She stopped fighting against him and relaxed in his arms. "I love him Charlie, don't let anyone hurt him."

* * *

Tony was standing in a cleaner's closet. He had locked the door. He had made it up to the floor above them and could see 3 armed officers standing outside a room. He had no chance of getting in there. He thought about everything Sam had done to his sister and Michelle. He thought about how scared Michelle was, how much pain she was in. The fact that the person responsible was only a few meters away and he couldn't do anything about it was too much to comprehend. He kicked the shelves next to him, and then he kicked them again over and over before he started punching anything within reach. Every punch and kick was what he wanted to be doing to Sam right now. Once he started he found it hard to stop, he was full of rage and it felt good to go completely nuts. He could hear people trying to open the door and shouting at him to open it but it didn't stop him. He kicked the wall as hard as he could and his foot went through the plaster.

When the door finally opened, Tony stopped and put his hands up in the air. "Sir you need to come with us."

Tony nodded his head and stepped out of the room. His hands were bloody and his foot hurt like hell.

* * *

Charlie heard his name over the loud speaker asking him to come to room 5b immediately. As he stood up a nurse appeared at the door. "Mr. Almeida, we have your son we need you to come with us straight away."

"What about Michelle?"

"I'll stay with her and she will be fine. Please make your way to 5b. It is up one level, turn left out of the elevator."

Charlie looked at Michelle. "I'm fine, just make sure Tony is ok." She slurred.

Ashe walked past the nurse he whispered, "Keep a close eye on her, she is trying to get up. Don't leave her alone for even a minute."

He ran all the way to 5b. When he entered he found Tony sitting on a bed. His hands a bloody mess. Connor was there. He had told the officers to back down. Everyone understood and he wasn't in trouble, they just wanted Tony to calm down. Charlie walked over to Tony and put a hand on his sons shoulder. "What happened Tony?"

"I didn't touch him, I couldn't get near him..."

"What happened to you?"

Connor answered for Tony. "We found him in a cleaner's closet punching and kicking the walls and shelves."

Charlie was relieved. "Let me see your hands son."

"Where is Michelle?"

"A nurse is staying with her, she is ok. Probably asleep by now she was really out of it." He took Tony's hands in his and started to inspect them. Connor helped him wash up the blood. They were swollen and covered in little cuts. They thought they should have them x-rayed.

"I don't need an x-ray, I can move them fine." He turned to Connor. "I'll pay for the damage I caused."

"Let's worry about that later and concentrate on getting you fixed up."

Charlie hugged Tony. "You scared me to death."

"Sorry Dad. I feel better for letting off some steam though. It doesn't seem fair that Sam is lying there getting help, being protected after what he did."

"I know, its bullshit. But Tony, you can't touch him or else you will be charged and then what will Michelle do? What will we all do? I need you to stop and think about that."

Tony nodded his head. "I know."

The nurse hadn't taken Charlie seriously when he said not to leave Michelle alone for a minute and had gone off to check on other patients. She stuck her head in the door once or twice but ended up being distracted. Michelle was going out of her mind worrying about Tony.

* * *

She was angry that Connor didn't seem to understand how bad it was that Sam was in the same hospital and Ashley was roaming free. People thought that if you just had police there then everything was ok. Her work had taught her a million times over no matter how secure you think something is, someone will always find a way if they really want to. She thought about all the things that had happened over the last couple years with her Dad and Doug and how much the 'system' had failed her. Considering it was something she had spent her whole life working for, right now it seemed like the most useless thing in the world. She could only count on herself and Tony. The nurse stuck her head in the door again.

"What is happening?"

"I don't know the facts but I believe your husband has been charged and the police have removed him from the premises. Your father is with him, I am sure they will contact you as soon as possible."

"They just left?" A feeling of loneliness overwhelmed her.

"I only know a little of what I have heard, I'm sorry."

"Charged with what?"

She shook her head. "I really don't know, that is just what I overheard at the nurses' station. You should try and get some sleep."

Michelle was going to say Tony wasn't her husband and Charlie wasn't her Dad but decided it wasn't worth it. This nurse was useless. She pretended to close her eyes until she heard the door shut again. Now that she knew Tony and Charlie had been taken away from the hospital she knew she couldn't stay there. She felt like a sitting duck just waiting for something to happen. Fear set in and she felt so alone. She had to get out of there. She knew she was drugged up and not thinking clearly so she tried to run the situation over and over in her mind to make sure she was doing the right thing. She didn't have her phone and she didn't even know Natalie's number to call her. All she could think was to go back to their apartment and then try and call the police or Natalie and find out where Tony was. She prayed that he was ok. She didn't care what happened to Sam, she just needed to know Tony wasn't hurt.

She half fell, half stumbled out of the bed. Her body hurt and her legs were not steady but she made it to the wall where she could lean against it for support. She stuck her head out the doorway and saw that nobody was paying any attention so she tried to move as fast as she could down the hall. Her legs were not working fast enough and she felt anxious. She had to get off this floor before Connor or anyone else saw her. She made it to the lifts and got inside. She pressed the button for the ground floor and when she got out she saw she was near emergency. She needed to rest. Her head was spinning and she was so tired. She saw an empty bed at the end of a block and made her way over. Her body ached. A bruise from Sam on the top of her thigh was throbbing. Every time she took a step, pain radiated through her leg. She couldn't climb up onto the bed so she slid down the wall so she was sitting on the floor. She tried to close her eyes for a few moments to catch her breath.

* * *

Charlie and Tony walked back into Michelle's room. Tony was anxious to get back to her as quickly as possible and Charlie had agreed he could check Tony out properly once they were back in the room. The second he walked in he saw Michelle was gone. He turned to Charlie who said loudly, "Fucking hell! Where is that fucking nurse?" He stormed out of the room.

Tony followed his Dad to the nurses' station. He hadn't heard his Dad speak like that before. As soon as he reached the desk Charlie pulled the nurse aside. "Where is Michelle?"

"She is asleep in her room."

"No she fucking well isn't. I told you not to leave her side!"

"I'm sorry, she looked like she was falling asleep and I am busy with 5 patients of my own, I can't afford to sit watching someone sleep!"

Charlie was yelling. "I told you to stay with her, if you couldn't do that you should have said so. Where the fuck could she have gone? When was the last time you checked on her?"

"About 20 minutes ago. She asked what was happening with you guys and..." The nurse stopped talking when she realized she had told Michelle that they were with the police and Tony had been charged when clearly that was wrong.

Charlie was staring at her, "and?"

"Look, I heard that her husband was being charged. When she asked I told her that and that you were with him and that I would let her know as soon as I heard more..."

"Who the fuck said Tony was being charged, who is not her husband by the way. Do you have any facts right?"

The nurse looked like she was about to burst into tears. "I'm sorry. I thought you were her Dad and Tony was her husband. The nurses were all talking about what happened and we thought that Tony had been charged and taken to the station with the police. I didn't know..."

"You told her we left the hospital?"

She just nodded her head.

Both Charlie and Tony swore loudly. They turned to each other. Tony was panicking beyond belief. Charlie put his hands on his shoulders. "Think Tony, where would Michelle go?"

"Our apartment. That is the safest place for her. Dad...she is nowhere near well enough to be up like this. She doesn't have any money, proper clothes, a key to get in..."

Charlie was shaking his head. "I know. But she can't have got far in less than 20 minutes. She couldn't even get out of the bed when I left her. Let's get the hospital searched first."

They caught Connor and a security guard and organized for a search of the hospital to be done. Charlie phoned Natalie and told her what was happening and to stay at Tony's apartment in case Michelle made it there somehow. Charlie had never been angrier in his whole life. He felt ill at the thought of Michelle trying to go anywhere in her condition. Tony snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Oh My God, she must be scared to all hell if she thinks I've been charged and at the police station. She is going to think she is all alone. Fuck Dad, we have to find her NOW!"

"I'm sorry I left her Tony, I thought the nurse wouldn't leave her side."

"It's not your fault Dad, if I hadn't gone crazy, none of this would have happened."

They took the lift down to the ground floor. Once there they split up and Charlie took the emergency department, whilst Tony headed out the front. They had their cell phones to keep in touch. Security was doing a sweep of all the other floors.

It only took Charlie 5 minutes to find Michelle. She had fallen asleep and was curled up in a tiny ball on the floor of one of the rooms. The boxer shorts had ridden up her thigh a little and her hand was resting on the deepest, darkest bruise. It shocked him and he felt ill again imagining what she must have been through. He called Tony who ran back to them. They both stood there for a moment watching her, catching their breath. They were both so relieved. Charlie's eyes were watery. "Thank fucking God. Oh My God, thank God she is ok."

Tony walked over to Michelle and crouched down beside her. He gently stroked her head. He got a fright when she pulled away and tried to jump up. He caught her, "It's me baby, it's Tony."

She looked at him with sleepy eyes for a moment, trying to figure out if she was dreaming or not. He stroked her cheek, "Hey, everything is going to be ok."

"I thought you were taken to the police station?"

He shook his head. "The nurse had it all wrong. I wasn't charged. I didn't even get close to Sam."

She scanned his hands. "What happened to you then?"

"I got into a fight with some shelves in a cleaners closet. Baby, I am so sorry. So so sorry you were left and told the wrong thing, I can't imagine how scared you must be."

Her bottom lip began to quiver. She could hear Charlie apologizing. She tried to stop herself from crying.

"Where were you going sweetheart?"

"Our apartment. I didn't know what else to do but I couldn't make it, it's too hard...my thigh is killing..."

He sat down and pulled her onto his lap. "I'm sorry. We will get you back upstairs and..."

"NO!"

They were both surprised at her outburst.

"I'm not going back there. I have to leave the hospital. We all do."

"Chelle..."

"No, I can't do this anymore. I don't feel safe here, I hate it." She couldn't keep the tears back any longer.

Tony cradled her and stroked her hair and kissed her on the forehead. "What do you want sweetheart? What do you need?"

"I want to be allowed to leave here. I'm scared of Ashley and Sam." She ran her hand near the bruise again, it hurt so much it felt like she was going to pass out from the pain. "My thigh..."

Charlie bent down beside them. He was sure the position of the bruise would make Michelle uncomfortable for him to see but he had an idea. Tony had turned and was looking at his Dad, pleading with his eyes for him to help.

Charlie cleared his throat. "I have a thought."

They both looked at him with eager eyes.

"How do you feel about me caring for you Michelle?"

"What do you mean?"

"You are not well enough to normally go home, you should be under constant supervision of a doctor. I can do that. I can sign you out into my care but this needs to be taken seriously. You would need to stay with me and be willing to let me look after you?"

Michelle's eyes lit up a little. "You would do that?"

Charlie nodded his head. Tony's voice was hopeful, "But Dad, Sam and Ashley know where you live. We can't go there. I don't want you guys there."

"So we either cram into your apartment or we stay at a hotel until we sort something out. Maybe for the time being, everyone would feel more comfortable at a hotel."

Tony nodded his head. "That would work."

Charlie turned back to Michelle. "Chelle, do you think you are going to be comfortable with me treating you? It's not like a broken arm or something, you have a lot of different wounds that need attention and I need to know that you are going to be able to open up to me, talk to me, let me help you."

Michelle's voice was shaky and quiet. "Has Tony told you what Sam did to me?"

Charlie put his hand over Michelle's and shook his head. "No. I don't really know anything yet." He hesitated. "Let's try something. You were telling Tony that your thigh hurts. Will you show me what you are talking about?"

Michelle looked at Tony and he smiled at her and nodded his head. "It's a bruise I think, near the top of my leg where Sam...where he...pinned...tried to pin me down. It is really throbbing and it is a lot more noticeable than it was a few hours ago."

Tony and Charlie winced. Charlie asked Tony if he could move to the side. He then asked Michelle to sit with her legs straight out. "Can you show me?"

Michelle slowly pulled the shorts high enough to reveal the bruise. She didn't need to reveal anything other than the top of her leg. Tony couldn't believe it, he had seen a light bruise when they were in the shower but it had gotten so much worse. "Dad, that's 20 times worse than it was when we showered."

Charlie ran his hands around the edges of it where it was raised. He pressed down on the side of it. "How does that feel?"

"Tingly, like pins and needles."

He pushed and prodded around the side of her thigh like he was trying to feel for something. "This will hurt, try and bare with me." Tony held her hand. Charlie pushed the middle of the bruise to see how the color bounced back. Michelle let out a small whimper.

Charlie looked at Tony. "I need to get a scan done of this. Could just be a very deep bruise but I'm not happy to leave it. I can take Michelle for a scan at my clinic before we go to the hotel. That way I can also pick up everything I would need." He looked back at Michelle, "I know there are going to be things like that and your stomach Chelle that may make you feel a little uncomfortable but if you think you will be ok with it, then I can get you out of here?"

Tony was relieved. He hated the thought of them all having to go to another hospital and there was no one in the world he trusted with Michelle more than his Dad. He looked at her. "Baby, Dad is the only person I trust with you. I want you to feel comfortable but I would love to have you home with me. We can all be together."

Charlie looked at Michelle. "Do you trust me Michelle? Do you think you are going to be able to talk to me and let me help you?"

Michelle nodded her head but tears still made their way down her cheeks. "I trust you. I don't want to go to another hospital. Would you really do this for me?"

"Of course I would. And I would love nothing more than for us all to get out of here and have time together." He tried to lighten things up a little. "We can order in room service and watch movies."

"Thank you Charlie. Thank you."

Charlie smiled. "Ok then. I'll sign you out. Tony, why don't you phone your mum and let her know what is going on. Have her and Jess pick a nice hotel and pack up some things."

Tony thanked his Dad again. He picked Michelle up and put her on the bed. Once his Dad had left he kissed Michelle on the lips. "I am so happy we are leaving. Do you feel better?"

"Your dad is amazing. I feel so much better. I can't wait until I can just lie in your arms again properly."

"Well sweetheart, for the next week, that is all we are going to do. Hold each other, pig out on room service, watch movies and finally...finally have some _real_ time together."

**I hope you liked this chapter. Please review and let me know what to think. I'll only keep posting if people are reading and enjoying it. Thanks so much:)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Thank you for all of your reviews. I hope you like this chapter...it is getting very hard to write, so please let me know if you still want me to continue or not and what you think. ADULTS ONLY**

Tony had stayed with Michelle in the room whilst Charlie had gone back upstairs and spoken to Connor and signed a form for him to take over her care and release the hospital of any further responsibility of Michelle.

Feeling uncomfortable of the thought of Natalie and Jess on their own back at his house trying to pack things up, Charlie had called a good family friend, Nathan to go over and meet them and help them get everything packed and over to the hotel. Nathan stayed with the girls until Charlie, Tony and Michelle arrived.

* * *

Tony pushed Michelle in a wheelchair out to a cab they had called and the 3 of them went straight over to the hospital Charlie worked out of. His assistant was more than surprised to see him rock up with Michelle and Tony, especially in the state they were all in. He introduced them all and then asked her to pack a medical bag for him. He wrote down a list of supplies he needed her to pack and organize for him. Whilst she took care of that, Charlie took Michelle into one of the rooms to do the scan on her thigh.

* * *

The scan showed the blood in the area beginning to clot, so it was very lucky he had checked it out. He would need to give Michelle injections to stop it from getting any worse. Whilst she seemed so grateful to be out of the hospital, she was certainly very quiet. She was pale and very unsteady on her feet. Charlie pulled Tony to one side to speak to him privately. Whilst he did that he gave Michelle his phone and told her to call her brother Danny and let him know she was ok and where she would be staying.

Once they were in private Charlie had Tony sit down.

"What's up Dad? Did the scan show something worse than you are saying?"

"No no, nothing like that. I just need to talk to you about something very delicate. If Michelle had been bought into my care as a stranger, I would be organizing a 'rape kit'..."

He could see Tony's body tense up straight away. He kept going, trying to get it all out as quickly as he could. "Considering the circumstances, I think it would be a lot more appropriate for me to call a female doctor...who is trained in this...to come and see Michelle. I know someone that is very good and would be extremely gently and sensitive towards Michelle, she would also be happy I am sure to come to the hotel."

Tony's voice had become quiet and a little shaky. "Dad, Chelle told me what happened. He didn't actually rape her..."

Charlie couldn't believe he had to have this conversation with his son. "Yeah but he did touch her, right?"

Tony nodded his head.

"Are we talking about him..." Charlie just didn't know how to say this, "ummm, Tony by the look of that bruise, am I right in saying he didn't just touch her chest?"

Tony could feel his whole body becoming so tense. Just thinking about what Sam had done to her made his blood boil. "Yeah, you are right Dad."

"I know this is hard Tony, I am really sorry but we both want Michelle to be treated correctly for everything and I can't make certain decisions unless I know what I am dealing with."

"I know Dad, I know this isn't easy for you either and I really appreciate you doing this. As hard as it is, I won't be happy unless I know she has gotten all the help possible."

Charlie nodded his head. "Was this really rough?"

Tony took a deep breath. "Yes, he was rough. You will also see when you examine her properly later that on her other leg she has cigarette burns. He pushed cigarettes into her leg when she wouldn't do what he asked."

Charlie tried to talk but the lump in his throat was so big it took him a moment to take everything in and calm down. A doctor would never normally treat a patient they knew so personally, especially in a case like this and it was the first time in his career he had ever been in this situation. He understood now very clearly why it wasn't the best idea; it was so difficult not to get extremely emotional over every little thing. He tried to push that to the side though as he knew that their plan was best for Tony and Michelle and nothing was more important to him than that. "Ok, I think it would be really good to have this lady come and see Michelle. She is a therapist as well and I strongly believe it would do Michelle the world of good to talk to her. I also want Jess to speak with her as well."

"That's a good idea."

"You might want to think about talking to either her or someone else as well Tony. You have been to hell and back."

"I've got you. I can talk to you Dad."

That made Charlie smile. He thought about the last few years and how withdrawn and sullen Tony had been with everyone. Even before the situation with Nina it was like pulling teeth to get Tony to talk to them about work and what he went through. Everything he had gone through with Michelle seemed to be changing all that for the better. She changed Tony and obviously had been teaching him that it was ok to open up and let go sometimes. It made Charlie feel like he was becoming a lot closer to Tony, something he had been yearning for, for years now. They had never fought and when Tony was a child they were extremely close but as he completed his training and moved into CTU he started to lose that spark and his behaviour always suggested he had the weight of the world on his shoulders but felt like he was completely on his own. He put his hand on Tony's shoulder. "You sure do son, you sure do."

They walked back into the room to find Michelle lying there staring at the ceiling.

"Did you call Danny sweetheart?"

She shook her head. "Nah, I just sent him a text saying I was staying at a hotel with you for a few days and he could reach me on this number."

"You didn't mention anything that has happened? He is your brother, he will want to know...and then there is Nick, it has been days since we have touched base with him..."

"I don't want to talk to either of them about it...not yet anyways.'

"But..."

"Tony, you saw what my brother can be like. He is likely to fly off the handle and go nuts and I can't deal with that right now and Nick...I don't think I ever want Nick to know. There is no need to stress him out."

Tony leaned down and kissed her. "Ok baby, whatever you want. We will organize a new phone for you and me as soon as possible but in the mean time if you want to call any friends or anyone just Dad's ok? I'll leave it up to you to decide when you are ready to talk to people."

She looked relieved. "Thanks sweetie."

He went to stand up but she caught his arm. "Tony?"

"Yes"

"I'm really lucky to have you. I don't know what I'd do without you."

They kissed and he felt his heart flutter. "We make a perfect team yeah?"

"Yeah we do."

* * *

An hour later and the whole family was checked into a very nice hotel down town. They got 2 suites next to each other with joining doors. Jess had her own room, so did Charlie and Natalie and Tony and Michelle. Then there was a large lounge room and a small sitting room.

Tony had carried Michelle from the cab all the way up to the room and onto one of the beds. Everyone came in to say hello. Jess jumped on the bed, she seemed a little excited. She handed Michelle and Tony a package. "Mum and I stopped and got these for you guys."

Michelle ripped it open to find 3 books all about pregnancy. There was one for expecting Dads, expecting mums and then one for the both of them. "We figured you would have lots of time to read and we know how much you both said you needed to learn!"

Michelle and Tony laughed and thanked them. Michelle felt good. With all the drama going on it was nice to be able to keep remembering that she was pregnant with Tony's baby.

Michelle got everyone's attention. "Ummm you have all been so good to me and I'll never be able to repay you for your support and kindness but there is something I want you to let me do. You know I have this inheritance...I want to pay for the hotel and all the room service and movies or whatever we use..."

Tony and Charlie shook their heads. "I'm serious. The money has to be used on something and I couldn't think of a better way. I told Tony I want us to be able to enjoy the money; Dad would have wanted me to. So Jess...go nuts and order whatever you want, when you want."

It took a little negotiating but eventually they caved in. Charlie and Natalie had no idea how much money Michelle actually had but when they were discussing it, it became pretty clear to pay for something like this was a drop in the bucket for her. Charlie decided to let it slide for now but in his own mind he figured he would find a way to make sure he was the one that paid.

After they had chatted for awhile, Charlie went back into doctor mode. He asked Jess and Natalie to leave the room and get some food sorted out for them whilst he checked on Michelle. Tony started to pull some of their clothes out of the suitcase so they could both change into something more comfortable.

Charlie put his medicine case on the table beside the bed and then leaned on the chair. "Ok Chelle, this is where it might get a little bit hard. Seeing as it was Connor that attended to you when you were admitted, I haven't really seen any of your wounds. I need to do a proper check. Your side, I am sure will need cleaning again by now and I just need to know what it is I am dealing with. Would you like an injection for pain now before I start?"

"Yes please but can you not make it so strong that I can barely do anything like Connor was giving me at the hospital."

He told her he could lighten it a little. She just needed to let him know if she was too uncomfortable and needed more. He asked Tony to help Michelle get into a t-shirt and either shorts or leave the boxer shorts she had on now for the time being. Charlie faced away and got everything prepared. Michelle went quiet as Tony helped her into one of his cub's tops. She did feel a little embarrassed and nervous for Tony's Dad to be seeing her like this but it sure as hell beat the alternative and so she decided to just suck it up and get on with it. Charlie was doing everything he could to make her feel comfortable and she was grateful for that.

Tony got her propped up a little on some pillows and then he lay beside her. Once Charlie had turned back around, Tony took the bottom of her top and slowly lifted it up. He stopped at her bra line but he knew it was going to have to come up further. Michelle's eyes were darting all over the place but the injection was starting to kick in and he could see her shoulders relax back into the bed and her fingers unclench from the sheets.

It took Charlie a good 20 minutes to clean the wound and put tape back over it again. Michelle seemed fine as he did that. Then he applied cream and bandage over some small patches where she had scrubbed her skin a little raw. Tony watched his Dad's every move and Michelle. He held her hand and helped his Dad whenever he needed it. Once her stomach was done Charlie stood back up for a second. "Ok Michelle, are there bruises, cuts, anything on your chest?"

He expected her to say no straight away but the medication must have really kicked in. Her words were a little slurred. "Yeah. Ummm, I am sore and I am pretty sure I have some scratches or something." She looked at Tony. "You know..."

"Dad, Michelle has a bruise that is really red and swollen in the shape of a hand at the top of her chest, just below her neck. It is pretty bad. She also has bruises on both breasts and on the left side I noticed in the shower that she had scrubbed it enough that it was bleeding." He squeezed Michelle's hand as he spoke.

Charlie tried to think of the best way to handle this, he didn't want Michelle to feel completely exposed. In the end he suggested that they remove her top and he would check the handprint and anything else he could see. He would then leave the room for a few minutes and have Tony remove her bra and apply the cream where it was needed. They all seemed comfortable with that.

Michelle looked up at Charlie and saw how nervous he was. She was feeling pretty relaxed about everything at the moment and so she did her best to lighten things up. "It's ok Charlie, I'm just going to pretend I'm in a bikini top!" The 3 of them laughed and it worked, Charlie seemed to chill out a little.

Tony helped her pull the top off and she lay back down. When Michelle looked down and saw the handprint she suddenly snapped back to reality and tears welled up in her eyes. Tony noticed straight away. He kissed her cheek. "Try not to think about it baby. Look at me."

She looked at Tony but as soon as their eyes met it made her really start to sob. "It's horrible, how can you even stand to look at it?"

He leaned his head right over hers so she had nowhere to look but at him. He kissed her, "It will heal sweetheart, it will heal in no time. You are beautiful."

"How can you say that? How can you think that? I don't want you to be turned off me..."

"Hey hey, don't ever think that. You are the most stunning woman in the world. I love you so much baby."

Charlie had no choice but to step back and let Tony console her. It was heartbreaking to watch. Tony continued to tell her over and over how beautiful she was and kiss her tears away. After a few minutes when she calmed down a little, Tony had Michelle look at him whilst Charlie looked at it. There were fingernail scratches and little blood vessels that had burst. It was incredibly swollen and one of the most vicious marks of that type he had ever seen on somebody. The force that Sam must have used on her was overwhelming. As Charlie continued Tony made Michelle look at him, every time she went to look back he held her head by her chin and told her to look at him.

Once Charlie was satisfied with her top half, he instructed Tony on how much cream to use and what to look for. He was hoping it wasn't too bad and that Tony would be able to handle it on his own. When he walked out of the room he went to find Natalie and hugged her straight away. She was taken off guard. She held him tightly back, "Rough in there?"

He made sure Jess wasn't in ear shot. "What that poor girl has been through...it is unbelievable. I could kill Sam."

"What's happening now?"

"Tony is applying some cream for me. I'm not finished yet, shouldn't be too much longer." He shook his head and buried it into his wife's neck. "This is so hard...harder than I thought. I can't stand to see them both in so much pain." Natalie kept her arms wrapped around him and told him that she loved him and that they would get through this. That he was doing a really good thing by helping Michelle here so she could be out of the hospital.

Tony had called out to his Dad that they were ready. When Charlie walked back in the room he could tell that Tony had been crying and Michelle still was a little bit. He checked Michelle's blood pressure, which was up but he expected that and she also had a temperature. She looked exhausted but she was trying to fight the medication.

"Why don't you try and drift off to sleep Chelle? You don't need to fight the medication."

"Are you done?"

"No, I need to do your legs but it is ok for you to drift off whilst I do that."

Michelle looked at Tony and then back at Charlie. She felt nervous because he was going to have to look at the top of her other thigh where she had the burns.

Charlie could see Michelle had become nervous. "Are you ok?"

"It's just that...well you wanted me to tell you everything and be open with you and it's not just the bruise on my thigh. I've got...I've got these burns..."

"I know Michelle. I had to ask Tony at my office what injuries you had so I knew what to bring and be prepared for."

She looked at them both. Her voice was extremely quiet and vulnerable. "Do you know everything Sam did to me?"

He shook his head. "No. This is very ummm...hard. Michelle, if you were a stranger that I was treating, I would be organizing a rape kit and doing quite a few more tests on you. Now, I have a woman that I trust very much from the hospital and I think it would be really good if she came and saw you. She specializes in this and she would make you feel as comfortable as possible."

Michelle was shaking her head slowly. "I don't need...I don't want..." She stopped and took a very deep breath, "he didn't get that far."

Charlie sat on a chair next to the bed. "But he did touch you?"

Michelle didn't know where to look. She knew she had to tell the truth, Tony was holding her hand and he knew everything. "Yes."

Charlie was trying to use his most gentle soothing voice. "Will you talk to Michelle? I promise anything you say will stay between the 3 of us. I would never even breathe a word to Natalie of Jess. What concerns me is that if he was rough with you, that you might have injuries that should be getting checked sooner rather than later?"

Michelle nodded her head that she understood. "He was rough with me but I'm sure that I am ok...I don't want you to call that other woman."

Charlie was very happy that Michelle was talking to him. He knew the medication had made her drop her guard a lot. "You are doing really good Chelle. How do you feel, have you had any bleeding or are there any signs to suggest that he may have caused some damage?"

"I promise you, I would tell you but there haven't been any signs..."

Tony was stroking her arm, so proud of her for having the courage to open up like this.

Charlie nodded his head. "Any pain?"

"Now or then?"

Her question caught him off guard a little. It was taking every ounce of strength he had not to cry or over react. "I know he must have hurt you, it is more than clear how rough he was with you...do you have any pain now though? Or did you before I gave you the pain injection?"

Her words were beginning to slur a little and her eyes were starting to squint even more. "Charlie, do you really promise me that you won't say anything to anyone? I don't want Jess to know what happened...I don't want anyone else to ever know what happened. I am not good with this type of thing and I just need you to promise me."

"You have my word Michelle. What the 3 of us talk about stays between the 3 of us. I'll never break your trust."

"Will you still be able to look at me in the same way?"

Tony let the tears stream down his cheeks. Just the vulnerability in her voice was enough to break his heart but he hated knowing she was afraid that he or his Dad would ever think anything but amazing things about her made him feel sick. He knew enough, so did Charlie, that most people who go through an ordeal like she just had, blame themselves and feel ashamed and he knew he was going to have to work really hard to stop her feeling that way. He squeezed her hand and looked up at his Dad.

Charlie gave her a smile then picked up her other hand and held it. "What, do you mean will I still think of you as the most courageous, brave, intelligent woman that I have since we met? That I love you as family and the special person carrying my first grandchild," he looked at Tony and smiled, "as the love of my son's life and the beautiful woman that saved my daughter's life?...Then yes that is exactly how I look at you and will still look at you, no matter what."

He had managed to make Michelle smile. That was one of the sweetest things she had ever heard. Charlie was fast filling the enormous hole in her heart that she had had since she lost her own Dad. "Wow...I wish my Dad could have met you. You would have gotten along so well and I know he would be so happy I have you in my life. Thank you Charlie."

"Just telling you the truth Michelle and I wish I could have had the honour of meeting your father."

Michelle could tell she was slurring her words and fast losing the battle not to fall asleep. She didn't want to close her eyes though, she knew she would have nightmares, she tried so hard to keep fighting the medication. She took a couple deep breaths. "When he was...you know...it was really painful, I was fighting him so hard and it was making him angrier and angrier. But I am sure I am ok. I didn't have any pain before the needle, I promise."

Charlie accepted what she said. He let go of her hand and stood back up. She spoke again, it was getting harder and harder to understand her as it was almost just a mumble. "So you won't make me get checked out by that woman?"

"No, I am not going to force you to do anything you are not comfortable with. As long as you tell me if anything changes than I will leave it at that. I will talk to you later though about you just talking to her."

She nodded her head and thanked him. He asked her to show him where the burns were. She reached down and tried to pull the shorts up, Tony had to help her a little but they got them up and over the bandage that was already there. Charlie began to take it off. He was very surprised when Michelle spoke quietly, "I was trying to fight him off. I kept closing my eyes and picturing Tony and telling myself that I had to get home to him, I had to find a way to get out of the situation and home to Tony. But every time I refused him...he...would push his lit cigarette into me. Then he would light up another one and repeat the process...but I kept fighting him Charlie. I didn't care how angry I made him, I just couldn't...couldn't..." she couldn't get anymore out. Her breathing was getting heavier and faster.

"You were so brave Michelle. I've never known someone to be so strong and brave. You should be proud, you are amazing."

Tony wasn't use to seeing Michelle with her guard down. Up until their first kiss he had been chipping away slowly at her, trying to get her to express how she felt more after missions or particularly hard days. That's why on that day when she finally fell apart in front of him he had been so surprised. When she had allowed herself to be vulnerable with him it had been a very good feeling, deep deep inside. It made him feel like it was the start of a whole new side to their relationship. He knew he would never forget those few moments they had shared in the hallway and how she had made him feel when she turned to him like that. Now, because of the drugs her guard was completely down. He hated seeing her so upset, he tried to tell her that it was ok and to take some slow, long deep breaths.

Charlie took her pulse and blood pressure again. It was higher. He needed to get her calmed down.

She turned Tony. "Are you angry with me? Are you mad that..."

He cut her off, "I've never been angry at you sweetheart, why would you even think that?"

"I don't know...I just don't want you to see all this and get..."

"Hey hey, I have already seen everything baby. You told me everything and I have seen everything and I just love you more and more. Try and think good things honey..."

"Like what?"

He gently placed his hand on her stomach. "Like our little baby." Then he took her hand and kissed the back of it, "And we are together. After everything we are here together."

She was trying so hard to just get her breathing under control but she couldn't.

Charlie reached for his case. "I'm going to give you another injection Chelle."

"NO!"

He was surprised. "Why not? It will help."

"I don't want to sleep. I don't want to close my eyes."

Charlie had the biggest lump in his throat. She was scared to even close her eyes and sleep because she knew she would have nightmares. He knelt down beside her. "We are all here, no one is going anywhere. Tony will hold you the whole time. If you have a bad dream, when you open your eyes you will see us and know everything is ok again. You can't stay awake forever Chelle."

Tony pulled her so that her head rested in his arm and he could stroke her head. "Dad's right sweetheart. I'm right here and I won't let go."

She was listening and she believed them and she knew she was exhausted but she didn't know how to make herself calm down. The more she tried to calm down and couldn't, the more frustrated and agitated she became. She was getting worse by the second.

Charlie looked at Tony, "I have to do it or else..."

"Do it." He kept Michelle still and Charlie gave her the injection. Tony had to keep holding her tightly for a few minutes before the medication started to work. He just kept stroking her hair and telling her he loved her.

Within minutes Michelle was asleep. They were both relieved.

"You hanging in there Tony?"

"Yeah, I just can't stand seeing her like this, I feel so useless."

"I know, I do as well but this is the best we can be doing. There is no easy way through this. You have one very special young woman here Tony. A heart of gold. I couldn't be happier as a father to see my son end up with someone like Michelle. You are perfect for each other...just make sure you get that ring on her finger soon!"

Tony laughed. "I know, I will. I just need a time when she isn't drugged up to be able to talk to her. I want her to be able to remember the moment." He lowered his voice, "And I need to know she is saying 'yes' because she really wants to, not because..."

Charlie didn't let him finish, "She loves you more than anything Tony. You will make her so happy but yes, I agree you need to wait until she isn't feeling completely out of it."

Tony helped Charlie remove the bandage and when Charlie saw the burns he muttered "fucking bastard." Tony looked at him, "You see Dad, see why I just want 5 minutes with him?"

Charlie nodded, "Yeah, I don't think I have ever been as angry as I have been today." He cleaned the burns, "they are going to scare pretty bad."

"Don't tell Chelle that yet."

After Charlie had finished checking all the marks on Michelle's body he checked out Tony's hands and ankle. His knuckles were badly bruised, swollen and had a lot of little cuts on them. He made Tony lie with and ice pack on one of his hands and his ankle. When Michelle was awake then he wanted to put ice packs on her as well but he didn't want to do it now in case he woke her up.

In the time it took him to turn around and put everything back into his case, Tony fell asleep. He pulled a blanket up over them both and crept out of the room. He found Jess and Natalie watching TV. Jess was half asleep as well. Once she found out from Charlie that Michelle and Tony were ok, they were sleeping now, she nodded off herself within minutes. Natalie pulled Charlie down onto the sofa with him and they held each other, talking quietly about the day and how rough the next few days were going to be. Before long, they had also fallen asleep.

* * *

At 1 in the morning, everybody woke to an almighty scream from Jess. She had been having a nightmare and it took Natalie minutes to wake her up properly and snap her out of it. As soon as she woke up properly, she bawled into her mums shoulder.

Tony and Michelle looked at each other trying to figure out what the noise was that had woken them up. Tony said he would get up and check but Michelle was insistent on coming with him, she needed the bathroom anyways. Tony waited for Michelle and then he helped her slowly make their way out to the lounge. Natalie had managed to calm Jess down by now. "I'm sorry I woke you..."

Tony looked at the time. "Don't worry about it Kid, are you ok?"

"Yeah, just a bit of a nightmare."

"Has everyone been sleeping?"

Charlie stood up. "Yep, we all really needed it. It has been hours. Everyone must be hungry though."

Everyone agreed they could eat. Tony was dying for a coffee as well, he took orders from everyone and called room service. "Looks like our body clocks are going to be out of wack for awhile!"

Natalie smiled. "That's ok, no one has anywhere to be. We can do what we want, when we want for a few days."

Tony sat on one of the couches and had Michelle sit on his lap with him. Charlie went and got ice packs out for both of them. "Chelle, I need these on these spots on your legs, and one on your chest. Tony, you need to put one on your ankle again."

Tony couldn't help but smile at how funny it felt having his Dad giving him instructions, it was like he was a little kid again. Michelle had to lie down for Charlie to rest one on the top of her chest, just under her neck. The pressure hurt like hell and made her wince. "Just for a couple minutes at a time and then you can have breaks from it but I need that swelling to go down."

As Michelle did as her Dad asked, Jess couldn't help but wonder why Michelle needed an ice pack there. She ended up asking. Michelle just told her she had a bruise there but Jess pushed it. She wasn't dumb, Michelle was covered in bruises and they weren't putting ice packs on all of them. When Tony could see that Michelle didn't know how to answer he told Jess that Sam had pushed her particularly hard there and it was very swollen. Jess wanted to know more but once she saw Michelle seemed really uncomfortable talking about it, she dropped it.

Over the next couple hours they all watched a movie together and ate up a storm. They had watched a romantic comedy, staying clear of anything heavy. They were trying but none of them were ready to sit laughing yet and most the movie just played out giving them something to do for a little while.

By the end of it Michelle was so sore she felt like she could barely move. The pain medication had worn off and it felt like her whole body was tightening up and aching. "Charlie, can I have something for pain?"

He told her of course and jumped up to grab his case. Michelle tried to sit up but even just doing that was so painful it bought her to tears. Tony tried to help her get into a comfortable position. Charlie gave Michelle the injection and then he took her blood pressure again. It was still really high. He was starting to think he was going to have to call and get some medication for it because he didn't have anything for it on him. "Michelle, your blood pressure seems to be getting higher and higher, I think I am going to have to get you something for it if it doesn't come down in the next few hours."

"Ok, but I don't want it to be a hassle for you."

"It's not, nothing is a hassle." He sat back on the arm of the couch and applied the ice pack to her again. He held it on for a couple of minutes and then gave her a break for a few before putting it back on again. Everyone was sitting around and he took this as a good time to tell them what he had been thinking. "Tomorrow, I would really like this lady I know from the hospital, to come and have a chat with you Jess and Michelle..."

"What for Dad?"

"You have both been through a really traumatic experience and I think it would be a good idea for you both to talk to her about it."

"A therapist you mean?"

"Yes, but one that is specifically for this type of thing."

Jess looked at Michelle, "Are you going to do it?"

Michelle knew that it would be good for Jess and clearly Natalie and Charlie wanted her to do it and so she said yes, only so Jess would feel more comfortable with it.

"If Michelle does, I guess so. Do I have to be on my own with her?"

Natalie was sitting next to Jess and rubbed her back. "What would you prefer sweetie? Your Dad or I or both of us can be with you or you can do it by yourself, whatever makes you feel most comfortable."

"Mum, I don't want to do it on my own. If you come in, then I will try it."

"Of course."

Jess was dying to know what had happened to Michelle in that room. Like everyone, she had been imaging every scenario possible and she carried so much guilt over it that she felt like she didn't know how to handle it, especially when she didn't know the whole truth. She asked if the others would mind if she talked to Michelle alone for a minute. Charlie told Michelle she could have a break from the ice pack for a bit and then the 3 of them headed off into one of the other rooms to give the girls some privacy.

Once inside the bedroom, Tony told his parents that he thought Jess was going to push Michelle into telling her what had happened and that Michelle would get frustrated really quickly. If it got out of hand he would be going back out there, he didn't want Michelle any more upset than she already was, as much as he could understand why Jess felt the way she did. They agreed.

Michelle was feeling a little out of it again from the injection but she had a feeling what this was going to be about. Jess sat across from Michelle. "Chelle, I know you said at the hospital you didn't want to talk about it but I really need to know..."

"What's on your mind Jess?'"

"I need to know what Sam did to you in that room."

Michelle closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. She tried to speak as calmly and gentle as possible. "I don't think any good can come from it Jess."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want you to have to think about it. You have to believe me when I say that he did not sleep with me..."

"Clearly though he did a lot...I don't know how I am supposed to deal with this or understand it when I don't know the whole story."

"All I want you to think about is that he is out of your life now for good. You are safe from him and I am so proud of you for how you got through everything with me. You were amazing Jess."

Jess was getting frustrated and her voice rose. "You don't get it Michelle. Sam was the first guy I ever slept with. The first guy I opened myself up to and trusted. To think what he was really like, what he was capable of, makes me feel so sick..."

"I'm so sorry Jess. I had no idea. I want to help you heal from this and move on and one day you will be able to trust men again and you will meet someone that treats you with all the love and respect in the world. I am sorry." Michelle felt horrible knowing that. She had to keep reminding herself that Jess was still only 20 and up until now had been very sheltered. She had no insight into the type of world Michelle and Tony knew. She could imagine how it must feel to have the first man you ever gave yourself to end up being a monster like Sam. This was going to be an incredibly difficult experience for Jess to ever get her head around. She didn't believe though, that hearing all the details of what Sam had done to her would help Jess. It would only make her feel worse and it wasn't something Michelle felt comfortable talking about either, it had been hard enough to tell Tony.

"Don't you think I can handle hearing it? After everything we went through together Michelle, don't I deserve to know what he did? I want to know what you protected me from."

"No Jess. It's not a good idea and I am still trying to process it myself..."

"But I can help you. You can talk to me. I know Sam better than anyone. You helped me more than I'll ever be able to repay you, why won't you lean on me?"

"I am leaning on you. You have been amazing to me Jess and I couldn't be getting through this without you and your family but I just can't talk about this..."

"I see the way Tony looks at you and the devastation in his eyes. I know he knows and I can see what it is doing to you guys..."

"What do you mean by that?"

"The stuff with the shower, the fact that Tony went mental punching the shelves and walls, the way he looks at you..."

"What do you mean the way he looks at me? In a good way or a bad way?" Michelle was getting very upset and frustrated now. Both of them were almost yelling at each other.

"It's not either. It is a look of helplessness. It's my fault my brother feels like that...Of desperation of not knowing how to handle what you have been through and anger of what another man did to you..."

Michelle's voice became broken. "What of disgust?"

"No that's not what I am saying! Disgust at Sam maybe but..."

"So what Jess, you want to feel that way as well? You think I don't already feel shit enough that any of you even know some of what happened but you want me to now make you feel that way as well?"

The girls had become so heated that it was impossible for Charlie, Natalie and Tony not to hear every word being said. This was not good and getting out of hand. Tony's blood was boiling just thinking about it. He could understand where Jess was coming from because he knew his own desperation in needing to know what Michelle had been through but he was shocked to hear what Jess had said about the way he looked at Michelle. All 3 of them ended up rushing out to the room.

Charlie put his hands up in the air. "Stop it girls, this isn't going anywhere..."

Jess was crying and very worked up. She stood up. "Yeah it's not going anywhere because Michelle won't tell me anything!"

Michelle was shaking her head. She didn't know what to say, she didn't even know where to look.

Tony's voice was full of anger and frustration as well. "Jess if Michelle isn't ready to talk about this, you can't push it. I know how you feel..."

"No you don't Tony! You have no fucking idea how I feel. How could any of you know how I feel? I'm not a kid, I can handle the truth. I was there you know...I lived it with Michelle."

"No one is suggesting you are a kid Jess or that you couldn't handle it..."

Jess turned to Michelle. "I love you, I couldn't possibly think more highly of you but I totally regret that. I should never ever have let you step forward like that."

Michelle lifted her head and looked at Jess. "What? How can you say that?"

"It was wrong. This whole thing is so fucking wrong. I was a coward..."

"Jess you were not a coward, don't you dare say that..."

"I've already been with Sam, I could been with him again, I could have handled that yet just because I got so fucking scared, you felt like you had to go through it for me."

Everyone was stunned. Natalie and Charlie knew it was good that Jess was getting this off her chest and they didn't want to stop that but on the other hand they could see how much it was upsetting Michelle and they didn't want that either. Tony looked stunned, like he didn't know what to say or do.

"Jess, when he kissed you at that first house you felt sick. I made a promise to you then that you wouldn't have to go through anymore..."

"So tell me Michelle, why should you have had to go through it?"

"Neither one of us should have fucking had to go through it Jess, that's the whole point. But my job is all about dealing with assholes like this and being in dangerous situations. I am a trained agent, I knew I would be able to get myself out of that situation..."

Jess didn't mean it but it just came out of her mouth before she could stop it, "Yeah well...clearly not quick enough..."

Michelle just stopped and stared at Jess. She could hear Tony telling Jess that that was enough. She felt everyone's eyes on her and she felt sick. She was on the verge of absolutely losing it, she had to get out of there. She started to get up, she felt Charlie's hand on her shoulder stopping her but she wriggled to the side and pushed herself up. Her voice was flat and she stared directly at Jess. "You are right; I wasn't quick enough, or good enough. If I was a better agent then things would have been a whole lot different. Don't think I don't know that." She turned and started to make her way to the bedroom. She could hear Jess apologising and everyone telling her that wasn't true and to stop but she ignored them all and just kept going. She felt like shit. Her whole body hurt, her thigh was throbbing beyond belief and she felt like she was going to be sick. She began to feel dirty and horrible again and wished she could stand under a shower forever and just block everything out.

Tony was only seconds behind her. He reached for her arm, "That's not true Michelle, none of that is true. You can't think that..."

"Why? Everyone else does!"

"Jess didn't mean that sweetheart. She's just not coping but I know she didn't mean it."

Michelle's head was spinning and everything was going blurry. She was really unstable and stumbled against the doorway. She couldn't even focus on Tony but she could feel him trying to hold her arm. "You heard what she said...when you look at me that way...is it in disgust?" That was all she could think. The idea that Tony could be disappointed in her, disgusted by what happened and let down by the way she handled things was the most horrific thought in the world. It was so overwhelming and created so much fear inside her that she wanted to explode. She could hear him saying _no_ but it didn't mean anything, it didn't even register. She was so angry, she used all the strength in the world she could muster up to yank herself out of his grip and step away from him.

Tony screamed, "DAD!"

Charlie rushed over to them. Tony was shocked at how strong she had been to get out of his grip. She wouldn't even look at him and it made him feel like he was losing her. She had one hand up in front of her telling them to back off and the other one was searching for a wall or something to steady herself on. She sobbed, "I'm not talking to this lady. I'm done. You get that? I don't need to be reminded anymore of..."

Tony didn't know what else to do other than to grab her again. He was sure she would fall any second. She tried to push him away, he got one arm around her shoulders, close to pinning her arms down but she managed to writher out of his hold and duck her body a little. Tony was hurt, angry and more than anything, scared that she was trying so hard to get out of his arms. It went against all of his natural instincts to only be nothing but gentle with Michelle but right now they were both out of control. He forcefully grabbed her again and this time when she went to pull out of his grip he used his strength to completely over power her and pull her body into his. He could hear her telling him to stop but the more she resisted him the harder he held on. They were close to the wall and he ended up pushing her body against the wall and standing with every inch of his body pressed into hers and her hands in his. "I'm not letting you go baby, I don't want to hurt you but I'm not going to let you fall or run. You need to stop fighting me."

Charlie could see Michelle was close to passing out. He was panicked about her blood pressure and at the way her and Tony were basically wrestling, all of the stitches and everything would be getting pulled and stretched. He heard her cry out in pain and it sent shivers down his spine. He told Tony to get Michelle onto the bed. He closed the door behind them and then rushed to the other side to grab his case.

Tony had Michelle's hands pinned with just one of his. He used the other to hold her chin. "Look at me baby."

She couldn't look at him. She didn't want to see the look in his eyes. Jess's words played over and over in her head, mixed with images of Sam and what he had done. She felt so ashamed she couldn't bring herself to look at him. She was crying in pain, her side was killing, she thought for sure the stitches had come out. She felt like she hated herself. She felt worthless, she felt as worthless as Sam had treated her.

"Why can't you look at me?" His voice was begging. He had tears running down his cheeks and he just knew Michelle had been pushed over the line. After everything, she was finally snapping. Her expression said it all, like every single thing she had been through was hitting her all at once like a ton of bricks. It broke his heart.

"Because...because everything is true. I don't deserve you. I hate my..."

Tony couldn't let her finish, he couldn't stand to hear her say the words. He put his finger across her lips. "Don't you dare...don't! I love you. I love you more than anything in the world."

"Let me go."

"I can't."

"Tony..."

"Where are you going to go baby? You can't escape how you are feeling..."

Her voice was a mumble, "How could you even want to touch me?"

He ran his hand from her chin to her cheek. "I love you. I'm not letting you go, I will hold you forever if I have to."

Michelle tried to lift her eyes but she had no strength. Everything started going black and she was losing feeling in her legs.

Tony watched as Michelle's eyes drooped down and he felt her whole body go limp. She passed out and her body collapsed into his. He yelled at his Dad that she had passed out as he picked her body up and carried her over to the bed. Tony couldn't stand this, seeing Michelle fall apart, seeing her in so much pain. He knew her inside out and he knew exactly what she was thinking. The pressure she put on herself at the office to be the best, to not make mistakes, not let anyone down was a trait that they both carried and it was a difficult one to have. It was impossible not to let it carry over into life outside of work. Michelle seemed to only know how to shoulder all the responsibility and not giver herself a break. She expected too much of herself and not enough from anybody else. He had to change that. He had to find a way of making her see the big picture, making her understand how precious she was and how courageous she had been instead of her believing she had let them down. He wasn't going to lose Michelle, he couldn't imagine life without her. She was everything to him and he had to find a way of getting her through this.

He didn't want to let her go but his Dad was pushing him out of the way to take her blood pressure and administer an injection. He yelled at Tony to go and grab a wet wash cloth. Tony ran to the bathroom and did what his Dad said. He kept asking his Dad why she wasn't coming to, what they were going to do. Charlie was trying to calm Tony down but the truth was he was very nervous of the whole situation. He climbed on the bed next to her and used the wash cloth on her cheeks and side of her face whilst softly saying her name. Tony had climbed onto the bed on the other side of her and had taken her hand in his. He felt helpless as he watched his Dad. He could see his Dad was scared and that unnerved him. His Dad was the most composed man he knew. His Dad ran the wash cloth down her neck and softly tapped her cheek saying her name over and over.

After what felt like forever but was only a minute or 2, her eyes started to flutter open. He heard his Dad sigh in relief. Charlie put a hand on both of her cheeks, "Look at me Michelle, can you look at me?"

She managed to open her eyes and look up at Charlie. "Do you know where you are Michelle?"

She looked a little confused but nodded yes. "Can you tell me?"

Her eyes shifted to Tony, his heart felt like it stopped as he saw a little glimmer in them. "Tony?"

"I'm here sweetheart, I'm here."

"I am so sorry."

Charlie stepped back and Tony leant over her so his face was just inches from hers. "I can't hear you say sorry anymore my love, you shouldn't be sorry for anything. I need you to hear me, believe what I am saying."

"I don't know what to do anymore Tony..."

"I do baby, I do. If I ask you some questions, will you answer?"

"Jess was..."

"No no baby. Let me ask you a question."

"Are you angry with me?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm angry at me."

"Why are you angry at yourself?"

Michelle looked into Tony's eyes and then at Charlie. "That I could have handled things better. Jess was right, I didn't act quick enough. I'm a trained agent and I let 2 drugged up losers take advantage of me and your sister..."

They were both taken off guard when they heard Charlie begin to sob. They both turned to see him with tears running down his face. Tony was shocked. "Dad?"

Charlie knelt down beside the bed. "I'm sorry. I just can't handle you talking like that Michelle. I feel sick that you feel that way. You saved our Jess. You saved all of our lives and you went through hell. How you can be angry at yourself is beyond me..."

"Jess is so angry, she is in so much pain and so is everyone..."

"And so are you Chelle. This happened. Everyone did their best. Everyone did everything they could possibly do to try and get through this. You can't shoulder how we all feel. We are all meant to try and help each other through this. Jess didn't mean what she said. She is racked with guilt and we need to help her deal with that, the same way we need to help you feel better about all of this."

Tony squeezed her hand. "You couldn't even look at me before baby, I could barely even hold you. I feel like I am losing you. I can't lose you..."

"I couldn't bare to see the look in your eyes if you agreed..." She stopped and took a deep breath, "Don't you get it? I am scared you are going to leave, feel ashamed..."

He had been saying _no_ as she spoke and shaking his head but when he knew she wasn't hearing it he kissed her to stop her from saying it. It took her completely by surprise. When he pulled back he spoke straight away, keeping his mouth just inches from hers. "Do you love me?"

"You know I do, more than anything."

"Tell me Michelle. Tell me you love me."

"I love you Tony."

He reached his hands under her neck and pulled her body up into his a little. "Then marry me. Marry me and spend the rest of your life with me. I love you more than life itself Michelle and I can't live without you. Please say yes, please say you won't give up, you won't leave me and that you will let me spend the rest of my life trying to make you as happy as you make me."

**Long chapter, I hope you liked it. Please review if you are reading and want me to continue to post. Thanks!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Sorry for the delay, been crazy with xmas and surgery. Hope you are all still interested in this story. Thanks for reading:)**

Charlie took a step back stunned that Tony had blurted that out. Michelle had stopped moving, stopped everything as though she was trying to digest what Tony had said. She wasn't sure she was hearing right. She stared at him and silence over came the room. All that could be heard was Tony breathing so heavily as he held her and stared at her anxiously waiting for the answer that would change his life forever.

Her voice had a glimpse of happiness that Tony recognised straight away but it was quiet and weak. "After everything I have done, after everything that has happened you want me to..."

He pulled her head up a little closer to his and cut her off, "Yes. Yes sweetheart. I've wanted to ask you for days...hell I've known you are the one for me since we met. I've never been more sure about anything in my life. I need you Michelle...don't you understand? Can't you see how much I need you? You complete me. You are everything to me. Please..."

"I would love to marry you Tony. I've never wanted anything more..."

He stared at her stunned. He played her words over in his head a few times making sure he would always remember them. "Really? You will be my wife?"

She started to get the biggest smile he had ever seen, "And the mother of your baby."

He kissed her passionately. When his mouth left her lips he kissed all across her cheek to her ears. "I love you so much."

"I love you Almeida. You are my whole world."

He sat up and started to laugh a little. Relief set in and it made him laugh. He looked at Charlie who was grinning from ear to ear. He jumped off the bed and hugged his Dad. "Did you hear that? She said yes!"

Charlie held his son tightly. "Oh I heard, I couldn't be happier for you both." He let go of Tony and leaned down of Michelle and kissed her on the forehead. "Congratulations and welcome to the family."

Michelle felt like she was in shock. She desperately wanted to be able to get up and jump up and down. For the first time since everything that had happened with Sam she felt alive again. Excitement was pounding through her body and she couldn't take her eyes off Tony. "Thank you. Oh my God is this really happening?"

Tony grabbed her hand. "You better believe it! You said yes! You just made me the happiest...the luckiest guy in the whole world."

She reached up and pulled him down so their faces were just inches apart. "You saved me Tony. You are the most incredible man and I can't believe I get to spend the rest of my life with you."

They held each other's stare for a few moments as images from the last year ran through their minds. All the secret glances at each other, all the times they brushed up against one another, made the other one laugh or cry...it all came together to create this feeling they had right now.

Michelle tried to move, to sit up a little so she could hug Tony properly but her body just wouldn't let her. The slightest move sent pain radiating through her body. She put on the bravest face she possibly could, not wanting anything to ruin this moment. Tony kissed her forehead, "Can I go get Mom and Jess? We have to tell them..."

Michelle nodded. He basically jumped off the bed in excitement. As he landed on the ground his ankle made him stumble a little but he didn't care. He steadied himself on the bed and then kept going.

Michelle slid her hand under the sweatshirt she was wearing to the side of her stomach. She looked up at Charlie but he was grabbing something from his case. He was talking to her, telling her how happy he was. She pulled her hand out slightly to see it covered in blood. She felt like screaming, she was in shock. "Charlie..."

He spun back around and she lifted her hand to show him. He stared at her bloody hand and for a moment without a word he leant over her and rolled her body a little to the side enough to see blood on the bed under her. "Fuck. Stay calm Michelle...stay calm."

He ran to the door and screamed at Tony. "Wait Tony...stop!" Tony was just about to open one of the other bedroom doors where Natalie and Jess had gone. He spun around to his Dad. "What?"

"Come back..."

Tony could tell by the expression on his Dad's face something was very wrong. He ran back. As soon as Charlie had told Tony to come back he ran back over to Michelle. "I need to get your top off, can you move?"

She tried to sit up a little but her head was dizzy and she wasn't strong enough to support herself. Charlie used one hand on her lower back to support her up enough so that he could slide the sweatshirt and t-shirt up. By this time Tony was almost back to the bed. "Tony, help me get her top off.

"What the f..." He stopped when he saw the blood. He didn't say another word, he just helped his Dad to pull her tops off. Michelle knew what was happening but it didn't feel real, almost like she was watching this happen to someone else. She didn't have a bra on, she knew in a second she was going to be exposed but the adrenalin had worn off and she was in so much pain just breathing was too hard.

Charlie had gone into doctor mode completely. This was serious and for now he had to forget that Michelle was his soon-to-be daughter in law. Right now she was a very sick woman and he needed to get the situation under control. With her tops off, he rolled her body to the side again a little so he could see everything. He could hear Tony asking him a million questions and panicking but his words were not sinking in. He started giving Tony orders, "Close the door, get me some wet towels and a couple dry ones. Pull my case onto the end of the bed."

Tony did everything his Dad said. Although it had entered his mind that Michelle was completely exposed, it left as soon as it came in. That couldn't matter right now, she needed help. He was thinking about how rough he had been whilst he wrestled her before and he was over-come with guilt. Without a doubt, the stitches had all come out when he had been trying to stop her. After he handed his Dad the towels and pulled the case onto the bed he looked up at her eyes. They were opening and closing and he could see she was in so much pain she didn't know what to do. His Dad asked him if he knew how to give Michelle and injection for pain. He did, so whilst Charlie tried to wipe the blood to see what he was dealing with, Tony gave her an injection for pain into her thigh.

"Tony..."

"I'm here baby. It is going to be ok. It's going to be ok." He wanted to kiss her and hold her and take away every ounce of pain she was feeling. He had never felt so hopeless. "Dad, what can I do?"

Charlie grabbed one of the dry towels and placed it over Michelle's chest with one hand whilst with the other he applied pressure to the wound. "Call down to the front desk and have them send a doctor up immediately."

Tony used the phone by the bed and called down. He asked if there was a doctor at the hotel, as soon as they said yes he told them they had an emergency and needed one immediately.

"A doctor will be up in a minute...now what?"

For the first time since he had seen the look of shock on Michelle's face and the blood on her hand he allowed himself to stop for a moment and try and collect himself. He stared at his son who liked like he was on the verge of losing it. To his credit, he could also see the agent in his son who was able to remain collected under pressure and help him. "Tony, you need to have Mum open the door for the doctor when he arrives and bring him in. I am going to need him to help me restitch this..."

"I can do that Dad, I've had to do it before in the field, and I can help you."

"No. Not with Michelle. Sorry Tony but you are too close. This is a push for me."

"What can I do to help then?"

"I'm not sure if you should be in here Tony..."

"I'm not leaving Dad, no matter what."

Charlie only needed to see the look in Tony's eyes for a second to see that there was no point arguing with him. "Ok but you do what I say. Please go warn your mother."

Tony bolted out of the room and burst in on his mom and Jess who were on the bed talking. "I can't explain everything but Michelle's stitches have come out and she is really bad. A doctor from the hotel is going to be here in a minute and I need you to let him in and send him into the room..." He turned to rush back to Michelle.

"What? Oh my God is she going to be ok?"

"Dad's handling it...please just do it, I have to get back in there." He didn't wait for an answer, he just started making his way back.

Charlie ran his finger over Michelle's eye that was closed, he wasn't sure how with it she was. She opened it a little at his touch. "You hanging in there? Do you understand what is happening Chelle?"

She slightly nodded her head. "Can I have something for pain?"

"Ok, just give me one second, ok? I need to check exactly what Tony just gave you."

As soon as Tony came back into the room they discussed exactly what Michelle had just been given. "I want to use a sedative Tony..."

"Whatever you think..."

"I want Michelle as comfortable as possible."

"Just tell me what to do."

"Apply the pressure like I am doing so I can put some things together."

Tony took over from his Dad at holding pressure on the wound. He was able to lean down and kiss Michelle on the cheek. "We are going to have you feeling better in no time baby. You just need to hang in there, ok?"

"Thanks..."

"You are so strong sweetheart. Just close your eyes and allow yourself to drift off. Don't fight the medication."

She nodded her head but he wondered how much she even really knew what was going on, she seemed so out of it. He turned to his Dad, "Is that the pain that's..."

"Pain, shock, her blood pressure...everything." He had finished making the injection and he gave it to Michelle in the thigh.

Within a minute of the injection, it was clear Michelle was asleep. Charlie had Tony help him begin to prep her side. He needed to give her a pile of local anaesthetic around the area before he could stitch it. He also needed to clean it up properly. He was very impressed with Tony and how well they were working together. Just like he had, he could see Tony had flipped a little switch and fallen into 'work' mode to get through the situation. He wondered if he had made a poor decision to take Michelle out of the hospital and care for her here. Physically, her condition was something he could easily manage, that didn't frighten him, it was the emotional side to the entire thing that was bigger and more powerful than he had thought it would be. Trying to help his daughter, Michelle and Tony through this was harder than he could have ever imagined, especially when he was so emotionally involved himself. He was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of the other doctor walking into the room. He introduced himself as Eric and asked what the situation was.

* * *

30 minutes later they had restitched Michelle's wound. Over 20 stitches, however it was the position of them that was difficult. With the wound being on the side of her stomach and round it was tough, it didn't help that Michelle was so thin there wasn't a lot of extra skin to pull together. Charlie was satisfied that it looked good and everything was under control again. They thanked Eric and he left.

Charlie turned to Tony. "How are you doing?"

"Ok, she is going to be ok, right?"

"Yes, she will be fine Tony. We were lucky. You did a great job, I am very proud of you."

"Thanks Dad, I just don't know what I'd do without you."

They both looked back down at Michelle who was still completely out of it. She would be for awhile. "Let's get her cleaned up."

Tony helped his Dad clean up all of the blood off Michelle. Tony didn't even think twice this time when they had to remove the towel that was covering her to pull a new t-shirt on. He felt a bond with his Dad that he had never experience before. To go through what they just had, was almost unbelievable. After they had Michelle all done, they pulled the bloody sheets from under her and stripped the bed, she didn't stir once. They had Natalie call down for clean sheets. Tony picked Michelle up in his arms and held her whilst Charlie and Natalie made the bed again. He stood holding her watching his parents. Everyone was trying to be quiet so as not to wake her. She needed to sleep for as long as possible. Once the bed was done and Tony put Michelle back down he crawled up beside her. He asked his Dad for an ice pack for his ankle which was now really swollen. Charlie helped Tony get comfortable and then applied the pack to his ankle. He gave Tony some pain relief and was surprised when just a few minutes later he was sound asleep next to Michelle. He had his arm around her and her head was cradled into his shoulder. Natalie and Charlie watched them for a moment before switching the lights off and leaving the room.

As soon as the door was closed and they were out in the kitchen Natalie asked Charlie what the hell had happened. He collapsed into wife's arms and cried. He had kept it together for as long as he had to but now in the comfort of his wife's arms he let himself go. He told her everything except for the part where Tony had proposed. He wanted Tony and Michelle to be able to tell Jess and Natalie when they were awake and could enjoy the moment.

They checked on Jess who was now fast asleep as well and then they went into their own room. They lay on the bed and talked. Charlie told Natalie how hard he was finding this. That it was so painful to see Michelle and Tony going through all of this and that there was no easy quick answer to any of it. They discussed what had happened with Jess that had kick-started everything. They knew they needed to get Jess talking to someone as soon as possible. They couldn't force Michelle or Tony but they certainly could with Jess. They spent a couple hours talking about everything and trying to come up with somewhat of a game plan to get their family through the next few days. Eventually they both drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Everyone slept for over 9 hours. When Michelle opened her eyes she found him watching her, his face so close to hers. "Hey sweetheart, how you feeling?"

"I'm ok, how are you?" It was taking a few moments for Michelle to figure out what had happened. Everything was a blur.

"I'm good baby, I love sleeping in your arms. Do you remember what happened sweetheart?"

Michelle thought for a moment. Flashes of everything started flying through her mind. "Yeah I think so..."

Tony's heart pounded as he asked the question, "Do you remember telling me you would marry me?"

It hit her like a ton of bricks but in the best way possible. She had forgotten for a moment but the second he said it, she could remember every word that was said. "Oh my God Tony, we are going to get married!"

He smiled and then shifted so that he was lying on his side supporting himself up on his elbow and leaning over her. "Do you still feel the same way?"

"Of course I do...that's about the only thing I am certain of at the moment...is how much I love you and want to marry you."

He didn't want to ruin the moment but for his own sanity he had to say it. "You know what this means now don't you baby?"

"What?"

"You can't run anymore. This is a pact that you and I are in everything together from now on. I just can't handle feeling like I am going to lose you anymore baby, it's killing me..."

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."

"No, I don't want you to be sorry Chelle. I understand, I do. If I had been in your shoes before I would have felt the same way. I am so sorry for what Jess said. She didn't mean it but I can understand how it made you feel. I know you better than anyone baby and I know how hurt you were."

"I just hated hearing her say that it should have been her that Sam did that to. I don't want her to feel guilty for any of it Tony. She didn't say anything I wasn't already thinking of myself. I wish I had been..."

"No baby...you did everything the best you possibly could have. I know you have been feeling that way. Because you are an agent you have placed a very unrealistic pressure on yourself. I don't know what you could possibly think you could have done better but the honest truth?"

"Yeah?"

"Knowing you baby...and I am not saying this in a bad way, I would be the same, I am the same...anything other than absolutely nothing happening with Sam is the only thing you would settle for. You are trying to shoulder responsibility for everything that happened but you are not letting anyone else in. We all had a role to play. Do you know how angry I am with myself for making you stay in the car whilst I went into the house?"

"You can't think like that Tony, you were trying to protect me..."

He kissed her gently, "And you were trying to protect us."

She stared at him. She was so completely consumed with love for him.

"Right?" He pushed her.

Finally she agreed with him. "Right."

"So anything that happens from here on out, will you try and trust in me and my ability to understand how you are feeling? If you talk to me, tell me how you are feeling then I can help you but if you keep going back to that dark place of thinking you are alone, or that I am disappointed with you then you are going to keep pushing me away...and that's what I can't handle."

"I don't mean to Tony. It's just that I can't help but have moments, especially like what just happened when I get so so scared that you are going to be angry with me or...or I feel so angry and frustrated over what happened that I struggle to understand how you could want to be with me."

As much as he was so happy and grateful that she was opening up and talking to him, it hurt like hell. He had dealt with enough victims in his life to completely understand why Michelle felt the way she did and he knew that it was going to take a long time of constant-enforcement to make her truly believe she did the best she could and that none of what happened was her fault. "Baby, what you are feeling is so normal but it is also so wrong. When you feel that way, next time I want you to try and stop and look at me...look in my eyes and see how much I love you...try and listen to what I am saying and hear the words. I'll do everything I can to pull you out of that dark place but it is only going to work if you trust in me and let me in. I love you so much and I promise you Michelle, we are going to get through this."

She trailed her hand from his forehead down his cheek. "I've never had someone so protective of me, someone that looks after me the way you do. Trust me Tony, I appreciate it more than you could ever imagine. I promise you, I will try harder. I'll try and stop and tell you how I am feeling before trying to run and deal with it myself. I'm just getting use to having someone to turn to. I am closer to you than I have ever been with anyone...not even my Dad. What I have with you is like nothing I have ever experienced."

He smiled and kissed her finger. "I love you. God, it feels so good to talk to you again like this. I need you so much Chelle. When we are holding each other and talking like this...I feel like there is nothing in the world we can't get through. You make me feel so strong."

"Me too baby, me too."

The kissed softly for a few moments. Tony opened her mouth with his tongue and found hers. They took it slow and gentle but it was still very passionate. He had missed this so much, it felt like forever since he had kissed her like this. He didn't know what was going to be too much too soon, and he found himself start to hesitate and pull back a little but she didn't let him. She reached her hand around his neck and pulled him back in. She deepened the kiss and ran her hands through his hair. She heard him moan quietly and it reminded her of all the times they had been together. How much she loved being so close to Tony. In some ways she still looked at him as her ultimate fantasy, one she had spent a long time wondering if she would ever have.

She felt him go to place his hand on her stomach and then quickly remove it, then she felt it go to land on her arm but then lift off again. She didn't want him to feel like he couldn't touch her. She barely broke the kiss as she whispered into his mouth, "It's ok Tony...you can touch me."

His breathing was getting heavier the more he was getting turned on. "Where?"

She looked him in the eyes and panted, "Everywhere...anywhere, I am yours remember."

He groaned and collapsed his head into her neck. He continued to kiss her. "I don't want to hurt you...or rush you...or..."

"Hey, hey, you could never hurt me. What do you want baby?"

His voice sounded desperate. "Everything..." he laughed a little and smiled. "Remember at the hospital I told you I wanted to kiss every inch of you and..."

"Yes."

"I just need you so much Chelle. I never feel like I can get close enough to you. Even when I am inside you, I want to be closer..."

His words made her head spin and she pulled his mouth to hers and kissed him strongly. She moaned into his mouth and minutes and minutes passed as they just kissed. Eventually his hand landed on the side of her neck and he held on tighter. She trailed her hand up and down his chest, under his shirt. After a long time, she knew he wasn't going to be able to touch her unless she showed him what she was comfortable with. She loved that about him, he made her feel so safe. She placed her hand over his and slowly moved it down to her breasts. She held her breath but she could hear him panting and struggling to breathe properly. She kept her hand over his for a moment. He stopped the kiss and looked at her.

Tony needed to see in her eyes that she was alright. That she wasn't pushing or rushing herself for his sake. He kept his head close to her and they held the most powerful eye contact as he so gently began to hold her. He knew she had areas where she was hurt, he knew exactly where they were and avoided them. It felt so nice to be intimate with her again. He was so gentle with her and it actually started to feel like a little bit of a healing process. He studied her eyes, ready to pull back the moment he saw a look of uncertainty in them but he didn't. He saw nothing but love and that look she got in her eyes when he touched her. It was something he had first noticed in her apartment after they had been at the cemetery. It was a look that felt like it was just for him, that his touch was sending her to another place and it was the best feeling in the world. When he saw her scrunch up her face just the slightest he knew they were there. There was nothing else in their thoughts but each other and the feeling of being together, so close. It had scared him he might never see that look on her face again. That after what she had been through, she wouldn't be able to lose herself in him anymore but now he could see that there was every reason to believe they could get back what they had. His touch was more powerful than Sam's, his love was strong enough to pull her out of that dark place and he would have the chance to spend every day for the rest of his life making her as happy as she made him.

An hour passed as they did nothing more than kiss and hold each other and it was the most precious hour in the world to both of them. She sucked so hard on his chest, she left a dark mark and they both giggled like teenagers. She looked at the mark proudly and he said he could do better and before he knew it, she was egging him on to prove it. He sucked on her shoulder giving her the biggest hickey, they both laughed. The laughed so much that she ended up telling him he had to stop because she needed the bathroom.

"Do you think you can get up? I'll help you."

She nodded her head. "Yup, just go slow."

As they sat up, they inspected his ankle which was still very swollen. "Does it hurt?"

He laughed, "Yup, fucking kills. That's the last time I kick a metal shelf." He kept smiling so she would know he was ok. It took her a moment but then she smiled with him.

It took them quite awhile to get off the bed and go to the bathroom and wash up. Michelle was sore and stiff and she was slow moving but she felt good to be up again. "Do you think we can shower Tony? I really want a shower."

"Let me ask Dad baby. I don't know if you can get your side wet or not. Want to wait here and I'll be back in a minute?"

He went to leave but could see a look of hesitation on Michelle's face. "What are you thinking?"

"Nah, it's...I mean I know there wasn't any way around it...I just remembered that I was pretty...ummm...exposed ummm before with your Dad."

Tony wrapped his arms around her, he could understand how that would make her feel. "Trust me sweetheart, he was in such 'doctor' mode that..."

She waved her hand, "I know, really it's alright. I'll never be able to thank your Dad enough for the way he has looked after me."

He watched her for a few moments to make sure she really was ok before heading out to find his Dad.

Tony found his parents in the kitchen area having coffee and was surprised to learn that Jess was in the other room with the woman counsellor. He was really happy to hear that she was open to talking to someone and that Charlie had been able to organize it so quickly. He hugged both his parents. They were more than eager to hear how Michelle was doing. He said that she had slept well and woken up feeling a lot lighter about everything. He could see the look of relief on both his parents faces. He then told his Dad that they would come out and join them all for food but first they wanted a shower and he needed to know if that was alright with Michelle's wound. Charlie said he would come and wrap it with waterproof tape so she could shower. Charlie followed Tony back to the bedroom and they found Michelle sitting on the end of the bed waiting.

As soon as Charlie walked in, she stood up and gave him a huge hug. She caught him by surprise but it felt really nice. "It's so nice to see you up and smiling Chelle."

"Thank you for last night, or this morning on whenever it was. You were amazing Charlie."

"Hey...I promised you I would look after you." They held eye contact for a moment. "You have been through so much Michelle and you still continue to amaze me."

"Thanks doc! I can certainly say you have seen me at my worst now and I really appreciate you...ummm...making things comfortable for me. With everything that has happened, I really trust you and you have been so gentle and kind with me."

Charlie couldn't do anything but smile. After how seriously upset he had been before watching her in so much pain, seeing her now smiling and thanking him was one of the best feelings in the world. He leaned in to both of them, "Just so you know...I didn't tell mom or Jess about your engagement, I figured you both would want to tell them and maybe we could all celebrate over a meal after you have showered?"

That made both of them grin ear to ear. "We would love that!"

Charlie applied a waterproof tape to Michelle's wound and took her blood pressure. He was relieved to see it was the lowest it had been. Tony and Michelle struggled to keep a straight face when he then launched back into 'doctor/dad mode' giving them instructions on how careful to be showering. He wanted Michelle to sit on a plastic chair in the shower and Tony to be with her at all times. As he turned to walk out he laughed, "And don't think I can't see you both laughing at me!"

Tony and Michelle giggled as they made their way back to the bathroom. Under the water Tony held Michelle tightly. He could see again how much she was loving showering. She went to grab a scrub brush but he gently took it from her hand and reminded her he was in charge. He promised he would use half a bottle of soap on her again if she wanted but she had to let him do it. Whilst on one hand it was hard for Michelle to hand over control to Tony when she wanted to go crazy scrubbing herself, she knew this time it was for the better and she didn't want to argue with him. She talked him into letting her wash his hair, which he had never had someone else do for him and once she started massaging his head whilst she did it, he decided she could wash his hair every day for the rest of his life if she wanted. It took them nearly an hour to shower, dress and be ready to head out to the family. Everything took a lot of energy out of Michelle and she constantly needed to sit and rest for a minute. Tony was just so happy to see her not resisting how her body was feeling and looking after herself. They talked and laughed the whole time. Michelle soaked up every second of having such a good time with Tony. They were so excited to tell Jess and Natalie that they were engaged. Michelle was a little nervous about what it would be like with Jess but Tony kept assuring her everything would be ok. They kissed on the lips before he helped her make her way out to the kitchen with everyone else.

**Thanks for reading. Please take the time to review and let me know what you think and if I should continue to write this story and post here. Hope you all had a great Christmas holiday! Cheers**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hi everyone, sorry it has taken so long again for me to update. I had surgery on my arm (had over 20 of them so far) and had complications from it and ended up back in hospital so it has been really hard for me to concentrate on writing. I hope you like this chapter. Same as always, I don't own 24 etc...and for adults eyes only:)**

Jess had been sitting out in the lounge waiting nervously for Tony and Michelle to appear from the bedroom. Not only had she had a pile of time to think about everything, she had also spoken with the therapist her Dad had organized. Jess had tried to apologise to her parents for what had happened but they stopped her. As sad as they were that Michelle had been on the receiving end and it had been so traumatic for her, they did understand where Jess was coming from. Both Charlie and Natalie were worried about Jess and how she was dealing with everything, one minute she seemed to be ok and the next she would be all over the place. They knew they had their work cut out for them to get Jess, Michelle and Tony all through this ordeal.

When Tony and Michelle finally did walk out, he was helping her stay steady; they gave Natalie and Charlie a big hug. Jess hung back. After a couple moments, Michelle turned her head and they caught eye contact. Immediately Michelle smiled a little for Jess and started to make her way over to her. Jess couldn't believe it, she was sure Michelle would be furious with her. She jumped up from the chair and rushed to Michelle so she wouldn't have to walk so far. They both sat down on the sofa together.

"I'm so sorry Michelle, you have to know I didn't mean what I said..."

"It's ok Jess, I understand."

"No you don't Chelle. You saved us, you were so brave and smart and without you I probably wouldn't be here right now. I didn't mean it when I said that you were not quick enough...it just rolled out of my mouth because I was so frustrated. I didn't know what else to say. I'm so sorry."

Michelle put her arms out and pulled Jess into a hug. "Thanks for saying that Jess, that means a lot."

"I made you feel like you should be ashamed or that Tony or I could be angry at you. I didn't mean to but I heard some of that when you guys were talkking and I feel horrible because it is so far from the truth..."

Michelle could see Jess was getting a little worked up. She cut her off, "Jess, you are right about how I felt but that's not just because of what you said. It is how I have been feeling anyways..."

"How could you think that though? After everything you did?"

Michelle could feel tears welling up in her own eyes. She sat back a little and tried to rub the tears away before they made it down her cheeks. "I don't know. Tony thinks a lot of it is because I am an agent. I mean, I just feel like my job, the thing I have spent my whole life working for is about catching the 'bad guys' and looking after people. I know we got out alive from Sam and Ashley but we didn't get away unharmed or...or...without consequence I guess. I wanted to be able to protect you more from that ordeal. And if I can't even look after myself in a situation like that then how am I meant to let other people trust me with their life?"

As she finished talking she felt Tony's hands land on her shoulders. He kissed the top of her head. "Sweetheart, you are placing far too much unrealistic pressure on yourself. Remember when I asked you if you felt disappointed in me when I came back to the office with broken bones or black eyes?"

She nodded her head and looked up at him. "Yeah."

"And you said no. What makes this any different?"

Jess took Michelle's hand. "Yeah, jeez Chelle, I was there remember, I saw everything that happened and you couldn't have done anything better."

Michelle looked down. "I know, I know I was just trying to explain to Jess that was how I was thinking before."

Tony just tightened his grip on her shoulders and lent down and kissed her again. He wasn't convinced at all that Michelle had changed her train of thought. He knew she hadn't but he wasn't going to upset her now by pushing it. He smiled and winked at Jess over Michelle's head, hoping that would be enough for Jess to just go along with everything. Fortunately it worked. Jess squeezed her hand, "Well I just really wanted to apologise for losing my temper with you and for talking to you like that. You have been amazing to me, I don't want to ruin what we have."

That was exactly what Michelle needed to hear to pull her back out of the little hole she has started to slip into. She smiled at Jess. "It won't, I promise you. Let's just forget it even happened."

"Thank you."

Tony leant down between them with a big goofy grin on his face. "Ok, come on let's order some food and..." He was going to say that they had something to tell them but he knew Jess would guess and he wasn't about to have that happen to another one of his moments so he just stopped talking and started making his way back to his parents.

Jess was helping Michelle up. As they stood, before they started walking, Michelle leaned in and whispered quietly to Jess. "One day I'll be able to tell you what happened Jess, I promise. I completely understand why you feel the way you do, I would be the same. I'm just not ready to say it out loud like that yet, I can barely even think straight about it and telling Tony was the hardest thing I have ever had to do..."

Jess nodded her head. She really appreciated Michelle telling her all of that. "Thanks Chelle. I do understand that a lot better now. Just know how sorry I am for what you went through and whether you ever tell me or not, I am always here for you."

The hugged again and started making their way back over to join everyone else.

Tony and his parents had ordered up a pile of food for them. He had slid his arm around Michelle and they stood in front of his family. Just like when he had announced the baby news, his voice went all shaky and broken but he had stood tall and proud and said it with the biggest smile on his face. He left out some of the details about how he had asked Michelle, no one else needed to know what an intimate and heart wrenching moment that had been. Natalie and Jess had jumped up and down again and they all hugged. Everyone had tears in their eyes as they welcomed Michelle into the family officially. Michelle spent most of the time watching Tony, who looked like he was so happy. She could see the darkness in his eyes though and he carried his body as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. She held his hand every chance she could and kissed him softly. He rarely let go of her, half because he didn't want to be apart from her for even a second and the other half because he was helping her to stay steady.

They had opened some champagne and wine. Michelle watched Tony basically skull the first couple of glasses and keep re-filling. She had stuck with juice.

Jess went to hand Michelle a small glass of wine. "Here Chelle, surely you can have a few sips."

Charlie almost knocked the glass over he jumped in so quick grabbing the glass. "No...no way. Sorry but the pain medication Chelle is on is so strong. You absolutely can't mix...sorry."

Michelle shrugged her shoulders and smiled. "That's totally fine."

When the food arrived, they all sat down together and had a huge meal. Michelle was a little sore and struggling to stay comfortable but she did her best. She was the most concerned with Tony who was going through the alcohol like it was a soft drink. She had asked him at one point if he was ok but he assured her he was fine. As he was responding to her she ran her hand through the side of his hair and down his cheek, they held eye contact and she was sure she could see his eyes start to go a little watery and his lip quiver but he managed to recover himself and pushed past the subject as quick as possible.

Tony watched as his Dad helped her to their room so he could give her a pain injection. He had offered to come but she had told him it was fine, she was used to needles now and for him to enjoy himself. It was a good feeling to see Michelle up and around and even smiling. When she had asked if he was ok and then held him like that, he had been about to breakdown. How was it that he could put on a smile and fake his way through anything his whole life and yet here was Michelle who seemed to be able to read how he was feeling with just a look. He wondered how the hell she could do that? How she could be so aware of someone else's feelings. Just another thing he loved about her.

It had been one of the hardest times of his life and Tony was trying to find his feet. He really was the happiest, luckiest guy in the world for Michelle not only marrying him but having his baby but the more he thought about his whole life with her, the more he thought about how close he had been to losing her. He couldn't stand seeing Michelle in so much pain. She tried to put on a good front with everyone as well but he could see she was struggling as well. He thought back to the time they had shared in bed before and it warmed his heart. That was what he needed. To be close to her, as close as possible. He needed her to hold him and let him know things were going to be ok. She had spent a lot of time trying to run that he couldn't help but be scared that this was all going to become too much for her and she would leave. He knew she loved him but she had been through nothing but hell since they had gotten together and he wondered how much more of it she could take. As much as he hated to admit it himself there was a part of him that was afraid he would lose everything.

It was well past midnight but all of their body clocks were all over the place. They sat around talking and playing cards for a couple hours after dinner. Michelle and Tony had teamed up together and she made him laugh the entire time. She didn't understand the rules and was terrible at having any kind of poker face what-so-ever. They got thrashed but no one cared, they were just having fun, although Tony did tell Michelle he would have to work with her on her game and poker face. His parents had laughed that Michelle and Tony should be better than anyone at keeping a straight face and bluffing their way through a situation but Michelle tried to reason that it was the medication keeping her from her 'A' game. Tony had continued to drink the entire night and was more than drunk now. A few times someone made a little comment or asked him if he was ok but he assured them he was fine, just trying to let loose a little. No one wanted to argue with that.

As much as he was still trying to laugh on the outside he was slowly getting worse on the inside. He needed more assurances from Michelle that she felt the way he did, that she wasn't going to try and run and that everything was going to be ok. He told himself to ignore it for now because he was drunk and didn't want to say something he shouldn't but every time she gave him one of her looks or touched him he just about blurted everything out.

They decided to head to their room and maybe put on a DVD in bed. Charlie followed them in to help, check Michelle over and give her some medication. Tony sat on the corner of the bed as he watched his Dad with Michelle. He was glad that he could see how much more comfortable she was with him now. Charlie checked her burns, then her wound on her stomach. He wanted to also check the bruise on her chest. Michelle undid the buttons of her top and lay on the bed. Charlie wasn't happy that the swelling wasn't going down and that the bruise continued to get darker, not lighter.

He turned to Tony, "If this isn't starting to make improvements tomorrow, then I am going to want to take Chelle in for a scan at the clinic."

"What could be wrong?" Tony's words were slurred and drawn out.

Charlie sighed, "I don't know, that's why it needs to be checked. Could be a blood clot...or..." He looked at Tony's expression which had quickly gone to one of panic. He knew Tony was well and truly drunk and he didn't want to get him riled up. "Let's just wait until tomorrow before we worry...ok?"

Tony nodded his head but it was obvious he was upset. Michelle did her top back up and thanked Charlie. "That's ok Michelle. You are probably going to want something more for pain in 4 hours. Even if I am asleep, just have Tony come and get me, ok?"

"Ok, thank you."

Charlie went to leave the room. Something didn't feel quite right, even though he couldn't put his finger on it. Maybe it was just that it was clear Tony was drunk and upset, maybe it was just all of the emotions from the past few days but as he walked out the door he had a feeling in the back of his mind something wasn't right.

Michelle sat up and walked around the bed to Tony who was still sat in the same position staring at the floor. She stood in front of him and ran her hand through his hair. "What's on your mind Tony? Something has been eating away at you for hours now."

He raised his head and looked into her eyes. He didn't have nearly as much control over his mouth or emotions as he wanted right now. "I just want you to be better Chelle. I hate seeing you like this."

She placed her fingers under his chin so he would keep looking at her. "Baby, I am getting better. I'll be back to normal in no time. I don't want you to worry so much..."

"How can I not? Of course I am going to worry about you. Until I know everything is right then..."

"What do you mean by 'right'?"

Tony sighed and closed his eyes. "I know you still blame yourself...I get that you are trying to hear me when I tell you not to but I know you still do."

Michelle could feel herself getting tense. "I'm trying Tony..."

He reached out and grabbed her hands. "I know you are sweetheart. I know. I just can't handle continuing to feel like I am going to lose you or that you are going to walk away."

"But I'm not! I'm right here and I don't want to go anywhere."

He stopped and started a couple times over. He knew it so clearly in his head by trying to make his thoughts form a sentence was feeling impossible. "Do you know what that felt like for me before Chelle? When I had to grab you and hold you so hard?"

"I'm sorry..."

"I could never imagine myself being anything but gentle with you and yet I had to completely overpower you just to hold you. You couldn't even look at me, you just wanted to run."

Michelle dropped her hands from his. As soon as she did it she regretted it because it was only enforcing how Tony was feeling. He sighed and shook his head. "I'm glad you did that Tony. I was scared to death and I was thinking the worst and I didn't know what to do. You did the right thing..."

"I did the right thing to hurt you? Look at what it did to you and what you had to go through because of it..."

"That wasn't your fault Tony. I was acting irrationally. I should have stopped and just listened to you but I was too lost. It's not your fault the stitches ripped."

"But it is because of what my sister said that got you so upset. It is because I am not doing enough to reassure you or make you feel safe enough that you even felt like that in the first place. That is a fact."

"No Tony, no it isn't." Michelle took a step back so she could put her hand on the counter for a little support. She hated seeing Tony so upset. She would do anything in the world to make him feel better right now.

He stood up from the bed and raised his voice. "Look, even now you are moving away from me. What do I need to do Michelle? Tell me and I'll do it."

Michelle walked back over to Tony and put her hands on his chest. "Everything you have been doing is perfect Tony. I couldn't ask for more."

"It's not enough! Tell me what I need to do to make you stay?"

Michelle stopped and stared up into his eyes. They were watery and his voice was full of desperation. Even though she knew he was drunk, she was a little taken back by him. He had been so strong and in control, so sure of everything and yet now he seemed like he had absolutely no control and was consumed with fear. "You really think I am going to leave you?"

"Well if I hadn't basically tackled you before, would you have?"

He had her there. She had no idea what she would have done. She didn't ever for a minute want to leave Tony, she had just wanted to be out of the situation and her initial reaction was to remove herself but she didn't actually ever want to leave Tony. "I don't know what I was even thinking before Tony. Can't you understand I was just frightened? I was thinking that you were disappointed with me, that I had let you all down...I didn't know how to face that, I didn't want to see that look in your eyes that you were ashamed of me." She threw her hands up in the air and raised her voice a little, "God don't you know how much I want you? YOU are the only reason I am getting through any of this...why I even want to get through any of this!"

"Then tell me what to do Chelle? Tell me..."

She cut him off, "NO. Why don't you tell me what you need from me? What can I do to make you feel better? How can I prove to you this is what I want? That you are all I want?"

"I JUST WANT YOU!"

Michelle put her hands back on his chest. He had tears running down his cheeks now and he looked a mess. She lowered her voice. "You have me baby, you have me." She kissed him on the mouth gently. She was completely shocked when he immediately deepened the kiss drawing her straight into him. He pushed her mouth open and wrestled her tongue with his. It was intense and passionate. They stood like this for a few minutes as things became more and more heated. She felt him reach his arm down and pick her up. He didn't break the kiss once as he put her on the bed and climbed on with her.

Tony couldn't keep up with his own actions. He was aware that he had to be so careful with Michelle, but he had never needed this more. He needed to feel her, he needed to have her look at him like she used to and make him feel like she needed him just as much as he needed her. He wished he hadn't drunk so much because then he would have more control. Like his temper, Tony had trouble controlling his emotions and actions at the best of times but now when he had never felt more vulnerable and emotional it was even harder to keep any kind of control.

Michelle let Tony kiss her and take control of the situation. As much as from day one their passion and desire for each other led to these moments where it felt like they couldn't get enough of each other and everything was so intense and heated it was the most powerful feeling in the world, something about this time felt different. It didn't feel like Tony was just turned on and wanted to be with her, it was like he needed this and was trying to make all of his pain and fear go away. He started kissing her neck and ear and making his way down to her shoulder. He impatiently fumbled with the buttons of her shirt to get it open.

They hadn't spoken yet but when Tony got Michelle's shirt open and was confronted again with the sight of the huge handprint on her chest, he lost it. Seeing such a vicious handprint from another man on her body felt like it literally could drive him insane. He growled in frustration and stopped. Michelle didn't know what to do, he wasn't taking his eyes off the mark and the noises coming out of his mouth were now not sounds of passion and excitement, they were of angry and frustration.

"Don't look at it Tony..."

"I'll fucking kill him. I am going to fucking kill him." He started to gently trace the outline of the bruise, his tears were landing on her chest.

Michelle couldn't stand to see the pain in Tony's eyes or the way he was looking at her like that. She needed to distract him. She ran her hands down to the buckle of his pants and started to undo them. At first he moved his body to the side to give her access but as she went to sit up a little to pull them down he stopped her. "No...I don't want you...I didn't mean to pressure you..."

"You didn't...you're not. Stop looking at me like that...I want to make you feel good."

Tony didn't know what the hell to do. Of course he wanted this, he felt like he needed this but as drunk as he was he still had enough wits about him to know this was going to be hard for Michelle and he didn't want her doing anything she wasn't ready for. "I don't know if you are ready sweetheart..."

She was moving now and had his pants pulled down. "Don't you want me to?"

"Of course I do but only for the right reasons. Chelle, I'm sorry I am drunk...I shouldn't have..."

She took him off guard as she took him in her mouth. He let out a loud sigh and his shoulders dropped back onto the bed. She felt unbelievable and it seemed like forever since they had done anything like this. He opened his eyes to see her using her hands to button up her top. His heart sank, "Baby, don't cover yourself." He knew that was his fault. It was because of his reaction to her that she was doing that and it made him feel terrible. "I want to see you..."

She shook her head slightly but didn't stop. She shifted her body a little to get more comfortable. She could tell how much Tony needed this, his entire body was responding to her touch. He had stopped crying and she had managed to calm him down a little bit.

As much as he wanted Michelle to continue, he felt terrible that he had made her feel like she needed to cover up and he didn't want another minute to pass of her feeling that way. He reached for her arms and pulled her body up, forcing her to stop and look at him. "I want to see you." He tried again.

She shook her head. "No you don't. It makes you furious and I understand, I don't want to look at it either."

"Baby, I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you feel that way. Let's..."

"NO Tony. I just want to make you feel good." She pulled out of his hold and went back to what she was doing.

He closed his eyes and tried to think of what the hell to do. She was making his entire body feel amazing and he loved being so close to Michelle again. After a few moments he felt her stop and he opened his eyes and looked at her. She had tears in her eyes and her lip was quivering. They stared at each other for a moment and then she leaned forward and pushed her head into his neck, her voice was quiet and weak, "I love you Tony. I'm not going anywhere, I promise. All I want is to make you happy."

He was so happy that this was happening. Of course he didn't like to see Michelle in tears but this was exactly what he had needed. For her to open up and tell him. He ran his hands through her hair and pulled her in closer. "Thank you sweetheart, thank you. You do make me so happy, happier than I have been my entire life. I just get so scared you won't want all this with me...that everything will become too much for you..."

"Why wouldn't I want all this with you? Why does that scare you so much?"

"Because it feels like since the day we got together nothing but bad shit has happened to you. You have been through hell. What if you decide you can't handle it anymore or that..."

She lifted her head so they could look into each other's eyes. "None of what's happened will change how I feel about you, if anything it has just made me love you more. We get through things together and I wouldn't be able to get through any of this if you were not looking after me." She started to make her way back down his stomach. "I'll do anything to prove to you how much I want you Tony."

He ran his hands through her hair. "But this...are you ok? Are you ready for this? I feel like I just rushed and pushed you to try and make me feel better."

"I do want to make you feel better. I'm not scared of being with you Tony."

He wasn't quite sure of what to make of what she had just said. She was doing this to prove a point, to him and to herself. What she didn't understand was that her words, the way she had just thrown herself into his arms and told him how she felt was exactly the point he needed her to make. He didn't need her to do this to get that across to him, but he sure as hell wanted to be with her. He could see she was shifting her body, trying to get comfortable. "Chelle...you don't need to do this. I can see you're in pain.'

Michelle felt Tony go to put his hands on her to move her so she grabbed his hand and pushed it back down on the bed beside his body. She didn't want to stop. Yes, she was in pain but it was worth it. She was determined to make Tony feel good for him and for herself. There was a part of her that needed to prove to herself that she wasn't going to let Sam ruin what she had with Tony. And if she was really honest with herself seeing the way Tony reacted to her chest made her feel like she had to do something to make him forget it and want her again. He had been so passionate and in the moment but when he saw her chest it was like everything went out the window and all he could see was the bruise. That made her feel sick. How was she ever going to feel sexy for him again? Just thinking about it made her eyes water up. She could hear him telling her he loved her and asking if she was ok, she had only heard a little of what she said because she was too lost in her own thoughts and what she was doing. She became conscious of how hard she was holding his hand down on the bed, he wasn't trying to fight her grip but she was sure it must be surprising him.

They fell back into a rhythm and within a couple of minutes Michelle had Tony on the edge. He told her he was close and she told him how much she loved him and wanted him. Finally she pushed him over the edge and his entire body shook and she could see every muscle in his stomach tense up and his hands gripped the sheets until his knuckles went white. She stayed in the moment with him as he tried to get his breathing back to normal. She had no idea what to do now, or even what to say. There was so much going on that she had no clue. She felt him reach for her and help her to come back up next to him. He gently rolled her so that she was lying on her back.

He leant down and kissed her on the lips. "You are amazing, that was amazing."

"You're amazing Tony. I love you."

"I love you."

Tony broke eye contact and began to undo the buttons on her shirt again. She put her hands over his and stopped him. "No."

"Sweetheart, please, I want to see you."

"You don't want to see that Tony. It's horrible..."

"It's just a bruise and it will go away...I don't care about that..."

Tears rolled down her cheeks. "Of course you do. Before you were totally caught up in the moment and everything was good until you undid my top and saw that. All you could see was the bruise and it made you so angry. You completely stopped and I could tell all you were thinking about was how horrible it was..."

"Cause it upsets me baby. It reminds me of how much you were hurt. It doesn't change how much I want you..."

"You were totally turned off Tony. You think I don't know you don't look at me the way you did before?"

"I was not turned off you sweetheart. How could I ever be turned off you?" His heart was breaking, he knew his reaction had completely made her feel this way.

Her tone was a little sarcastic. "You know, when your fiancé removes your clothes you want to feel good...sexy...like you are...whatever...not that by looking at you, it completely ruins the moment and he..."

His heart fluttered when she referred to him as her fiancé. She hadn't said that yet and it felt amazing. "I just got upset baby. Hey, come on, you just had me so worked up I had no control what-so-ever. Your touch, the way you make me feel is unbelievable. You really think you could push me over the edge like that in just a couple minutes if I was turned off you?"

She just stared at him, unsure of how to respond.

"Is that why you just did that baby? Did you just do that to distract from what was happening and to see if I still wanted you?" He was searching her eyes for answers.

"I don't know...yes a bit I guess. You were so angry and worked up and I wanted you to calm down and just feel good again, even if it was just for a few minutes. If looking at me and touching me was making you feel so shit then I thought that..."

He put his finger to her mouth. "Please don't even finish that sentence. Oh my God, I can't believe I just made you feel that way."

"It's ok Tony, I understand."

He sat up a little over her. "No, no it's not ok. None of this is ok. Sweetheart, I think you are the most stunning woman in the world. Everything about you is completely perfect to me. When I saw that, my reaction was purely because I got so angry just thinking about the pain that bastard had caused you. I was already a bit worked up because Dad seems worried about it and then when I saw it again I just lost my temper with SAM and what he did to you. Not even for a second though, did it make me want you less or feel less attracted to you. God Chelle, you just have to touch me and I lose control. When I get to touch you, or see you I get lost in you straight away, it is like you have some kind of magical powers over me."

"Really?"

He let out a little sigh of relief. "Really...now please let me..." He slowly began to undo the buttons on her top and this time she didn't stop him. Her hands were still clutched to her shirt and so he took them and rested them by her side. He was so gentle with her as he undid each button and then slowly pushed the top to the side. He could tell she was holding her breath. This time, he tried to not even look at the bruise but just concentrate on her chest. He took one last look into her eyes, before lowering his head and softly kissing each breast. It was hard not to go crazy with her like he normally would but he just took his time to take every inch of her in and give her the chance to relax into what he was doing. He could see her stomach rising and falling quickly and he could hear her breathing becoming a little faster. After a few moments he started to use his hands. "God you are beautiful Chelle. I could do this forever."

Michelle felt like she could cry, this time in happy relief. She could tell he wasn't putting on an act for her. The way he was holding her, kissing her and looking at he was real and she could feel it. It allowed her for a few minutes to forget about all of the marks and bruises and not feels so insecure. Eventually he lifted his head and kissed her on the lips and just like this morning when they had first woken up they spent a long time just kissing and holding each other. It was so gentle and loving and exactly what both of them needed. Michelle wouldn't change this feeling for the world. She wasn't well enough for them to make love yet, they both knew that and it felt nice that they didn't have to address it, they just knew it and were grateful to be this close.

After half an hour they had to stop so Tony could take a bathroom break. As he climbed back on the bed with her she asked him if he felt better.

"So much better, this has been incredible. I needed to be close to you."

"I knew you were upset during dinner and everything and that's why you were drinking. I hate seeing you sad."

He kissed her forehead. "I know we have so much to talk about and work through sweetheart but we are getting there. I guess I just need to know that no matter how tough this gets that I am the one you will want to turn to. That you won't want to shut me out or leave. Nothing sends me crazier then thinking I am about to lose you."

"I need to be better at not putting walls up as soon as I freak out or get scared. I am trying so hard but I need you to be patient with me. I've never been through anything like this before and I just don't know how I am meant to deal with it. I'm glad you force me to stay, that's what I need..."

He squeezed her hand. "Well I can promise you this baby. I will never ever let you leave when you are feeling like that. I don't care if we go through this a hundred times until you really learn and understand that you are not alone and we can face this together. I'll catch you every time, I'll hold you and not let you go for as long as I have to. I know it is not something that is going to change overnight but I am telling you know...I don't care what I have to do, I won't let you leave like that."

"Thank you Tony. Do you believe me though when I say I don't want to be anywhere but with you? That when I do that it is just because I am scared...not for any other reason?"

He nodded his head. "Yeah, I do."

**Please review this chapter and let me know what you think and if I should keep continuing to post here. I always appreciate you guys taking the time to let me know your thoughts. Thanks!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hi, thanks for all the messages. I am ok, was a childhood sports injury that never seems to get fixed right. Hopefully that was the last op. Thanks for your kind words. I wrote this chapter about 5 different ways because I have ideas of where I want to get to but I need to nurse the characters to make that happen. After everything that has happened I can't just make it all perfect straight away so I am working on it. I want to show the devotion of the characters to each other as everyone knows from S3 on the show that Tony and Michelle married pretty quick and that Tony was so in love with Michelle he would do anything to protect her. Even though I am not following suit with having Michelle preggers now, I still want to maintain how deep their love and connection is for each other. I hope you like this chapter. This is hard stuff to write, such sensitive issues and I hope I am giving it some justice. Thanks for taking the time to read, I hope you are enjoying the story so far...(ADULTS ONLY)**

They hugged for a few minutes and then Michelle rested her head on Tony's shoulder. She was tired and drained and it didn't take long for her to fall asleep. Tony held her and stroked her for awhile. He tried to sleep but he couldn't. His mind was racing about everything. When he knew Michelle was definitely asleep he slid out of the bed and made his way out to the lounge room. Everyone else was asleep in their rooms and it was dark. He grabbed his laptop and the phone and sat on the couch.

First he called CTU to get an update on the situation and see if there were any new leads on anything. He asked Chloe to update him on anything they had learnt about Doug since his release and what he was doing. So far that was ok; he hadn't done anything out of the usual. He had claimed benefits and was staying with a friend about 35 minutes away. Next he asked her to find out what was happening with Sam and Ashley. He was pissed to find out that there hadn't been an updated report on either one of them for over 15 hours now. He asked her to check who had visited Sam in the last 24 hours, what condition he was in and what was going on with Ashley. Chloe awkwardly asked Tony how Michelle was a couple of times. He told her that she was doing a lot better but then she acted surprised that she could be doing well at all, after what she had been through. Tony sighed, was this woman really the person that was going to replace Paula? Clearly it was going to take awhile to get use to her. He tried to stay calm and as friendly as possible as he asked her to get back to him straight away with an update.

Whilst he waited to hear back from Chloe he sat researching everything he could find out on Doug, Ashley and Sam. There wasn't anything to read about Ashley or anything he didn't know about Sam but this Doug was certainly a loose cannon. It made him feel sick reading the rap sheet on this guy. There was no chance by the sound of it that 15 months in jail would have done anything to rehabilitate him at all. As much as they didn't want face it, he knew it wouldn't be over for Michelle with Doug. He sat rubbing his cheek staring at the machine thinking of all of the things he would love to do to that guy. The vibration of his phone snapped him out of his thoughts.

He snapped it open, "Almeida."

"Tony its Chloe...from CTU..."

"Yes Chloe, what did you find?"

"I have a list of names of people that have been in to see Sam. I am guessing that the only one of interest to you is Ashley..."

"How many times has Ashley been in there?"

"3 times in the last 24 hours."

"Fucking hell. I want you to set up audio in that room Chloe so we know what they are talking about..."

"I can't do that Mr. Almeida, you know that I am not allowed to do that for you. I know that you love Michelle and all but you can't expect..."

Tony cut her off, he was frustrated and tired. "Ok, fine. Just please do me a favour and keep me updated every time he goes in to see Sam. Can you do that?"

Chloe sighed, "I'm extremely busy Tony, and we have 5 stations still not operating at..."

"I know the situation at CTU Chloe but Michelle is one of us. She is a federal agent and she was kidnapped and...and...JUST DO IT. I'm not asking for a lot of your time, I simply want you to keep track of the log books at the hospital and inform me if and when Ashley goes back."

"Fine!"

Tony thanked her and then hung up. He wasn't looking forward to having to work so closely with Chloe when he went back. He couldn't worry about that now though, he had to find out more about Ashley. It infuriated him that Ashley and Sam could even still be having contact under the circumstances. Who knew what they might be planning. They both would know if Jess and Michelle testified against them they could spend the rest of their lives in prison. As he sat there staring at the screen lost in his thoughts the hotel phone rang, he looked at the time, it was 3am. He pounced on it hoping it wouldn't wake everyone else up.

It was Danny. He apologised for calling at this hour but he didn't want to wait until morning before he spoke to Tony. He explained that he had received a couple of phone calls from a man asking where Michelle was. Danny hadn't said anything but he knew from the voice it wasn't Doug. Then when Danny had gotten home from work, his wife had called and told him that a young man had knocked on their door late that afternoon looking for Michelle. His wife had told the young man she wouldn't have any idea of Michelle's where-abouts. She was separated from her brother at the moment and didn't know anything. Danny was extremely anxious and wanted to know what the hell was going on. Tony could barely get a word in as Danny bomb-barded him with questions of why they were staying in the hotel, what had happened and who the hell would be going to his ex-wife's house looking for Michelle and calling his phone. Eventually Tony got him calmed down enough to explain what had happened. Danny flew off the handle and couldn't believe that Michelle had not told him. Tony tried to explain that Michelle was going to tell him she just needed a couple days to digest everything and recover. He apologised to Danny and then told him that he really needed his help to make sure Michelle was ok.

After talking about everything for 45 minutes, Tony got Danny to agree to have a trace set up on his phone so that they could monitor any more calls from Ashley and find out where he was calling from. Danny was anxious about his family's safety and Tony promised to have someone from his office go over and make sure their house was secure and keep an eye on his family. Danny demanded to be able to come and see his sister but Tony Was able to talk Danny into giving Michelle a little more time. He promised to have Michelle call him in the morning so he could hear from her that she was ok.

Whilst Tony was out in the lounge on the phone to CTU, local law enforcement and Danny, Charlie had also received a phone call on his cell from the hospital he worked at. Someone had been in asking where Charlie was. When the hospital staff explained that Dr. Almeida had taken the week off the man had tried every possible tactic to find out where he had gone and what he was doing. The staff didn't give out any information, they didn't have anything to say anyway – Charlie had told no one where he was staying except for his PA and the therapist. As far as the rest of the staff were concerned, he was on vacation with his family. Charlie was really disturbed by the phone call and knew he had to talk to Tony. Clearly it was Ashley that had been trying to find out where they were. He decided it couldn't wait and that he had to go wake Tony up and speak to him.

When Charlie snuck out of his room out to the lounge, he was surprised to find Tony on the computer in the dark. He walked over to him, he could see on the screen that Tony was logged into work and looking up records on Sam and Ashley, he had maps up and had written a pile of notes on a pad next to him. He put his hand on Tony's shoulder, "What are you doing Tony?"

Tony hadn't heard his Dad and got a real shock, he was so deep in concentration. He spun around whilst trying to close the screen down. "Ummm just looking at stuff for work. What are you doing up Dad?"

Charlie sat on the sofa next to Tony. "What's really going on Tony?"

Tony rubbed his cheek and took a deep breath. "I've just been talking to a few people Dad, trying to see what is happening with Sam and Ashley..."

"Anything come up?"

"Yeah and it's not good. It looks like Ashley is trying to find Jess and Michelle. Ashley has been in to see Sam a pile of times in just the last 24 hours and he has been calling her brother Danny." He paused and took a deep breath, "He even went to Danny's family home asking where Michelle was..."

Charlie started to panic. "And what did they say?"

"Nothing. Danny and his wife are separated at the moment so she doesn't know anything about where Michelle would be at the moment but Danny is really anxious and quite rightly so, worried about his families safety. He has agreed to have his phone monitored for when Ashley tries to contact him again but his is extremely pissed that we hadn't told him what happened to Michelle."

Charlie dropped his head. "Tony, I've just had a call from the hospital as well. It sounds like Ashley showed up there as well trying to find out where I was..."

"WHAT?"

"Don't worry, they didn't tell him anything, they don't know anything to tell but my PA does and I should call her.'

They both sat in silence for a moment whilst everything sank in. This was a nightmare. Finally Charlie asked Tony in a very quiet voice. "What do we do Tony? We can't let Ashley get near those two again..."

"Sam's probably told Ashley that if Michelle and Jess testify against them they will go to jail for the rest of their lives. They are desperate and at the moment I am sure Ashley figures his only hope of getting out of this is to silence the girls. We need a plan. I'm going to make a couple more calls back to work, Chapelle can authorize some man power for us and I'll get clearance to have Ashley monitored..."

As he was speaking his cell phone started ringing out. He saw it was CTU and so he answered straight away.

"Almeida"

"It's Chloe. I feel bad being the one to have to tell you this, seeing as you are already so mad but..."

"What is it Chloe?"

"Your apartment has been broken into. One of your neighbours called local police about some loud noise they heard and when the police went they found your locks broken and that the place had been turned upside down."

"Mother fucker! When did this happen?"

"Just in the last hour, I am sorry Tony. I have informed Mr. Chapelle and he is on the other line to talk to you."

"Ok, thank you Chloe, put him through."

Tony covered the mouth piece and spoke to his Dad. "We need to get out of here. My apartment was just broken into and I'll bet my life yours has been to. It won't belong until Ashley figures out where we are and there are too many people and loose ends to place us here. You need to call your PA and find out if she has been contacted."

"Oh My God Tony..."

Charlie's phone rang and he snapped it open. It was his PA, Lisa. She was crying and hysterical and Charlie couldn't make out a word she said. He asked her to try and calm down so he could understand her. His heart was sinking, he already knew what this was about, and he hoped like hell she was ok.

"Charlie, some man came up to me in the parking garage after my shift. He wanted to know where you were. I told him I didn't know and he said he knew I was lying. I tried saying you had gone on vacation with your family but he said he would kill me if I didn't tell him where you were. I am so sorry. I'm sorry..."

"Lisa, that's ok. I am so sorry this has happened to you. Did he hurt you?"

"No."

"Are you sure? Where are you now?"

"I'm at a friend's house; I didn't want to go home. I am so sorry."

"Don't be sorry Lisa, I just can't believe this has happened, I am sorry I got you involved..."

"What's going on Charlie? What does this man want with you?"

Charlie sighed, he was on the verge of tears. "It is a long story but this man abducted my daughter and my son's fiancé. They are safe now but they were both hurt and now this man is looking for them. Did you call the police?"

"No, I didn't know what to do. I just drove to my friend's house and then wanted to call you."

"You need to call the police...actually I'll have someone from my son's office contact you, he is a federal agent and they are aware of the situation. Are you sure you are ok?"

"I am ok Charlie, I promise. He didn't touch me but Charlie?"

"Yes."

"I am so sorry, I told him which hotel you were at. He was threatening to kill me and I just blurted it out."

Charlie felt like he was going to vomit but tried to remain calm. This wasn't Lisa's fault and he felt horrible she had just been through such a scary ordeal. He didn't want her to feel bad. "Lisa, that is ok, please don't worry about that, we will be safe. I am just sorry this happened. Can I please take all your contact information and pass it on to my son's work. He is with a place called CTU, which stands for Counter Terrorism Unit. They will probably come and see you shortly to get a description. Is that ok?"

"Anything Charlie, whatever you need."

Charlie took down the address of where she was staying and the phone numbers. He apologised again and then hung up. Tony was still talking to Chapelle, he waved for his attention and when Tony had told Chapelle to hold on he spoke quietly.

"Tony, Ashley knows where we are. He approached my PA and threatened to kill her if she didn't tell him where I was."

"Is she ok?"

"He didn't touch her, she is just shaken up but we have to get out of here now!"

Tony was doing everything he could to stay calm but he felt like he wanted to just break down and curl into a ball on the floor. The thought of Ashley getting anywhere near Michelle or Jess again was enough to make him crazy. "Ok, Dad, can you go and wake Mum up and have her get Jess ready and can you go and wake Michelle as well? I need to sort this out with Chapelle. We will figure out the next step if you can just get the girls organised?"

"OK, here are the details for Lisa if you want your guys to speak to her." Charlie handed Tony the information and then raced into Natalie. He woke her up and explained that they needed to pack and leave. Tears ran down Natalie's face straight away as she listened to Charlie explain what was happening. They hugged and she agreed to go and help Jess get ready whilst he went to Michelle. Natalie asked Charlie if they were going to be ok and he told her that everything would be fine, that CTU was on the case and were going look after them but as he turned to leave the room he could feel a huge lump in his throat. He didn't feel safe, but he wanted to keep as calm as he could in front of his wife. He wanted her to feel safe and protected.

As Charlie made his way to Michelle he worried that physically she wasn't really up to having to go through all of this and moving places. He was going to have to make sure they took it easy with her. When he walked into the room he could hear soft little whimpers coming from Michelle. The closer he got he could see she was sweating and tossing and turning, she was having a nightmare. He sat beside her on the bed and gently said her name.

It took him a few moments to wake her up and when her eyes finally opened a little she looked surprised to see Charlie there. She looked to the other side to check for Tony and then back to Charlie. She was very pale and shivering a little. "What's wrong Charlie?"

"You were having a nightmare Chelle."

"Did I wake you? Where is Tony?"

"He is in the lounge on the phone. Listen Michelle, there is no easy way to say this but I need you to trust that we have the situation under control..."

"What?"

"Ashley knows where we are and is looking for you and Jess. We need to leave immediately."

"Oh My God. How did he find out? Where are we going? Who is Tony talking to?"

"He is talking to Ryan Chapelle. I am not sure exactly where we are going, Tony is figuring that out now with Ryan. Whilst he is doing that, I need to get us all ready to go."

Michelle sat up and started to get out of bed. Her eyes were watery but she was trying to keep it together. "Ok, I'll get our things. Is Jess and Natalie ok?"

Charlie could see a huge difference between just his wife's reaction and Michelle's. The agent in Michelle came out straight away and she was doing her best to remain calm and collected, whilst Natalie and Jess he was sure would be all over the place. He would almost rather have Michelle burst into tears because he knew how to comfort her and handle that but it was a lot harder if she became guarded and pretended that she was ok. He asked her if she needed help getting off the bed but she waved her hand and said she was fine that he should go and make sure Jess was ok.

Charlie stood and waited for another minute as he watched Michelle struggle to get out of the bed and walk over to her bags. She was clearly in lot of pain, he offered to help again but she repeated she was fine, for him to go to Jess.

"Do you want something for the pain Michelle? It will help you get through the move?"

"No, I need to be clear headed. Thank you though."

Charlie went and grabbed his case and made his way out of the room. He prepared an injection anyway, figuring that Michelle was definitely going to need one. He checked on Natalie and Jess who were frantically packing up their bags. Jess was asking Natalie a million questions and Natalie was trying to keep her calm and promise her that if they just did what Charlie and Tony told them to do, they would be fine.

Michelle made her way out to Tony in the lounge. He put his arm across her shoulders and kissed her forehead. He told Ryan he would call him back in a couple minutes. He hung up and hugged Michelle properly.

"What is going on Tony?"

"Sweetheart, Ryan is organising for us to go to safe house until they catch Ashley. It is going to be ok baby."

"How does he know where we are?"

"He threatened Dad's personal assistant..."

Michelle threw her hand across her mouth, "Oh My God, is she ok?"

"She is fine but he also trashed our apartment and has called Danny to get information and Dad's hospital...everyone is fine Michelle but we need to get out of here straight away."

"He called Danny? Our apartment? Holy shit Tony, he is going to kill us. He is trying to shut us up so we can't testify against him..."

Tony pulled her in closer and tightened his grip on her. "He will not hurt you baby, we are doing everything we can to get us all to a safe place. I'm going to look after you."

Michelle just nodded her head as she tried to take in the fact that their apartment had been trashed and Ashley was on a war path to find them.

Tony pulled back a little and kissed her on the forehead, "I need to call Ryan back and make arrangements. Are you ok to get dressed? Don't worry about packing, one of us will do that..."

"I'll be fine. Come tell me as soon as you are done with Ryan."

Tony had been on the phone with Chapelle and local law enforcement for a long time. They had sent an agent over to Lisa who had given a description that matched Ashley and also had someone on their way to speak with Danny's ex-wife now. Charlie, Natalie and Jess were getting packed and ready and hotel staff were on alert to watch out for Ashley and to certainly not let anyone know which room the Almeida's were in or which floor.

* * *

Charlie had been running back and forth between helping his wife and daughter pack and discussing things with Tony as they set up plans. It had been awhile now since he had seen Michelle, he asked Tony if he should check on her. "Yes thanks Dad, she is trying to be ok with all this but I could tell she was pretty freaked out before. I don't want her trying to pack or anything, I told her to just get changed. Can you let me know how you think she is holding up?"

Charlie knocked on the door but didn't get an answer. Tony waved at him to just go in, so he stuck his head in the door but he couldn't see her. He saw the bathroom door open just the slightest. He said her name but she didn't respond. He walked closer to the door and said her name again but she still didn't respond. He could hear the tap water running, but not the shower. He started to get a feeling something wasn't right. He knocked on the door and said her name louder. All of a sudden the tap turned off and he could hear a pile of noise. "Chelle are you changing?"

"No, I'm...I'm...I'll be out soon."

Charlie could tell straight away she was in tears. Not just a little bit either, she sounded on the verge of being hysterical. She was breathing so deeply it was hard for her to get each word out and she sounded absolutely panicked. He pushed the door open and watched as she shoved something under the counter and then stood back up against the wall, she looked like a young child that had just been caught doing something wrong.

"Charlie..."

He was lost for words for a moment as he tried to figure out what the hell was going on. She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her shoulders quickly. She wouldn't look at him properly and her breathing was getting more and more out of control. "What's wrong Chelle?"

"Nothing, just getting ready."

He stepped inside and was even more shocked when she took another step back against the wall. "It is ok to be scared Chelle, we all are but I promise you that it will be ok. Tony and Ryan are working out a safe house for us and..." He stopped talking when he looked down and saw a flannel on the ground. That was what she had thrown down when he had walked in. His heart sank. He walked over right next to her, bent down and picked it up. He held it in his hand in front of her, she looked like she wanted to grab it from him but she wouldn't let the towel drop from around her even though she had a t-shirt on. He stared at her for a moment, hoping to god she would at least be able to look up at him and give him eye contact but she couldn't.

"Don't tell Tony..."

Charlie wanted to burst into tears on the spot. This was absolutely killing him. He could see how much pain she was in just by the expression on her face. He gently took the towel that was around her and pulled it off. At first she held on to it to stop him but then she just let it drop. Her arms were bright red where she had been scrubbing them. He looked down at her legs but she had tracksuit pants on, he took the bottom of her t-shirt and lifted it just slightly to reveal her stomach. It was the same bright red. He couldn't stop a couple tears from running down his cheeks. "Chelle what are you..."

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry."

He didn't mean to but his sadness and frustration got to him. "You know this isn't going to help! Why didn't you come to me or to Tony and let us know how you were feeling? I'm supposed to be looking after you and helping you feel better and now...and now I see that I'm not doing shit to help you! What can I do to make you understand, what the fuck am I doing wrong here..."

Michelle was completely shocked. She had never seen Charlie like this and he had certainly never spoken to her like this before. Seeing him cry was heartbreaking. "It's not you or Tony. You guys have been amazing..."

"Obviously not. I knew I shouldn't have left you before! I knew you were not quite right. Is this because of what is happening?"

"I just...I just..." She was still in total shock at seeing Charlie losing it like this. "What if he gets to us Charlie? Do you know what he is going to do? He is going to finish what they started. I can't go through that again...I just can't handle that Charlie..."

He stepped in closer. "He won't get to you Chelle, we won't let you go through that again."

Tears streamed down her face and she shook her head in disbelief. He wrapped his arms around her, she buried her head into his shoulder and he held her tight and whispered into her ear, "It's going to be ok, we will all get through this. You gotta hang in there Chelle, I need you to keep staying strong."

"As soon as I heard he knew where we were my skin just started crawling again. It's like I can still feel him on me and I don't know how to stop it. How do I stop it?"

Charlie had never wished he had an answer to something more than he did right now. He would have given anything to be able to make her feel better. The whole thing made him feel so useless. He felt like he was failing her. "I don't know Chelle, I really don't know but it will get better. I am so sorry you are going through this."

Michelle pulled back a little and took the flannel from his hand. "No Chelle, no more. Talk to me, talk to Tony but don't..."

"Just let me finish my legs. Please Charlie, please..."

He grabbed the flannel back and closed the door behind him. "No, I'm not going to stand here and watch you hurt yourself. You have been through more than anyone should ever have to go..."

"It was all worth it though."

His legs went weak when she said that. "What the hell does that mean?"

"You can't tell me it wasn't worth it Charlie. If it didn't happen that way it would have happened to Jess and we all know that is the one thing none of us could have lived with..."

Charlie was shocked beyond belief that Michelle looked at it like that. Her words made him feel like his heart just stopped. It made him angry, angry that she could possibly think that any of this was ok because it happened to her not Jess. His voice rose again, "How the hell can you think that? It shouldn't have happened to either of you but don't think this is any easier on anyone because it happened to you not Jess."

"Just forget about it Charlie, it doesn't matter. We need to get ready. Just please don't tell Tony."

"Don't you start trying to shut me out Michelle. It matters, everything you are feeling matters. I can't handle..."

Michelle yelled back at him. "What do you want me to say Charlie? What do you want from me? I don't want to make you any angrier..."

"Angry? I am fucking angry! How am I supposed to feel Michelle? You saved my daughter's life. You came into our lives and turned it upside down in the best way possible. You have made my son the happiest I have ever seen him, you have bought us all closer together and then you actually endured hell just to protect my little girl. Do you know what it is like as a father to imagine your daughter going through something like that? Trust me...there is nothing worse AND because of you, she was spared from that. BUT how do I ever live with that or feel ok with that when I see what you have been through? So tell me Michelle, what am I supposed to do? How the hell do I comprehend all this?"

"You are supposed to be relieved that it wasn't your daughter that went through it and trust that I'll get through this. Believe me when I tell you I don't regret anything, I don't regret one choice I made, I know it was the right thing to do."

They both stopped and stared at each other. Speechless. There was a pound on the door, it was Tony. "What's going on?" He opened the door and stared at them both. Neither one of them answered him, they both stood with their eyes to the ground.

"What's wrong? Dad, Chelle?"

Charlie kicked the counter, making both Michelle and Tony jump. Tony went to his Dad. "DAD! What's the matter?" Tony had never in his life seen his Dad do something like that. He had never seen his Dad look so emotional and out of control as he did right now. Charlie ignored Tony and raised his finger and pointed at Michelle. "It was a selfless thing you did, it was brave beyond belief but nothing about this situation is right. You should never have had to make that choice, you should never have had to endure abuse like that and you shouldn't have to feel the pain that you do now."

Tony stood back dumbfounded. He looked at Michelle's arms and it didn't take him long to figure out what must have happened. He felt his legs go weak and like his Dad, he just wanted to lose it. Michelle was equally as worked up, still trying to catch her breath properly. "I'm sorry. Let's just forget this happened. We need to get out of here. I don't want you to worry about me I'm..."

"Worry about you? I am worried to death about you Michelle. I feel like I am failing you..."

"What, how? You have been amazing..."

"Amazing? That's why I just caught you trying to scrub your skin off. I signed you out of that hospital under the belief that I would be able to care for you and make you feel better. That I could make you more comfortable and help you through this. I should have made you speak to that woman, just like I would have if you had been anyone else. Just because you and Tony are agents does NOT make you immune to the reality of this type of situation. Both of you are just hanging in there and it is my duty as your father Tony and your doctor to be guiding you through this and helping you. I don't feel like I have done either!" He barely got his last words out before he burst into tears.

For the first time in his entire life, Tony watched his father sob. It stung to the core and it hurt like hell. He felt like he couldn't move, he couldn't find one word, he was completely and utterly at a loss.

Michelle stepped next to Charlie and went to put her arms around him. At first he looked like he didn't know what to do and then finally he allowed her to put her arms around him and they hugged. "Charlie you have been so incredible to me and to Tony, I'll never be able to thank you enough for everything you have done. I could never have gotten through any of this so far if it wasn't for you. You DO make me feel comfortable and you are helping me. For the first time since I lost my Dad, I don't feel like I have a hole in my heart and that is because of you."

He went to reply but he was still sobbing too hard. Michelle continued. "I'm sorry for what just happened. That wasn't your fault though. I just got freaked out. I'm trying but I can't just make how I am feeling disappear yet but I know with you and Natalie and Jess and of course Tony, that I will get there. You have to believe me when I say that I couldn't ask for more, you have been exactly what I have needed."

Tony had now put his arms around them both as well. "Dad, I've never felt closer to you in my whole life. I have depended on you more in the last few weeks than I ever have and you have come through for me in the best possible way over and over. Can't you see how much you are helping us by allowing Michelle to be out of hospital and with me and the family recovering? Can't you see how much Chelle and I have opened up to you the last few days?"

Charlie stood back and looked at them both. He rubbed his eyes and had started to stop crying. "Really?"

"Charlie, I've opened up and told you things I would never ever have told anybody. Telling Tony what happened was the hardest thing I have ever had to do and yet over the last few days I have been able to tell you things as well. You've made me feel so safe and loved. I know I keep having my moments but if it wasn't for you and Tony...I'd...well I hate to even think of where I might be. Both of you are the best people I know in the whole world and I am closer to you both and trust you both more than anyone I ever have."

Charlie smiled a little. "Thank you."

Tony put his arm back around his Dad. "Thank you Dad. I won't ever be able to say it enough."

"Please don't give up on me Charlie. Don't send me back to the hospital..."

Charlie shook his head. "I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to give up on you Chelle, I never will."

Michelle sighed in relief. "Should I go get my bag so we can get out of here? Where are we going Tony?"

Both men looked at Michelle in surprise and shook their heads. Tony let go of his Dad and stepped into Michelle. "I might have just come in at the end of all that sweetheart but I have heard and seen enough to know what sparked it and we are not going anywhere until we check you and make sure you are ok."

"I'm alright really..."

Charlie took a deep breath. "Tony's right Michelle. We are not leaving until I know you are ok. I want you back on the bed now."

Tony smiled a little seeing his Dad spring back into action. He was still completely shocked to have seen his Dad break down but he wasn't surprised. He and Michelle had been an absolute mess for days and it was Charlie that had kept them going. In a way he was glad his Dad had let it all out. He promised himself to make sure from now on he kept checking in with his Dad to make sure he was holding up as well. Sometimes it was easy to forget Dad's are not superhuman. He took Michelle's hand and led her back into the bedroom and over to the bed. She went along with it and lay on her back staring at the ceiling. She was angry and frustrated. She knew she had a long way to go because she still thought in the back of her mind that if she had it her way, she would be getting straight back into the shower and washing herself again.

Charlie stood next to Michelle and pulled his case up onto the bedside counter. "I'm really sorry I yelled at you like that Michelle, that wasn't fair."

"It's ok, really. I'm sorry I upset you so much."

Tony lay next to Michelle and traced his fingers down her arm. He hated seeing her like this. He picked up her hand and kissed the back of it. "Ok sweetheart, where are you hurt?"

Michelle sighed. She could feel her lip beginning to quiver. "Stomach, legs and my arms."

Tony gently lifted her top to reveal her bright red stomach. "Oh baby..."

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry."

He kissed her on the lips softly. "I know how scary this is thinking about Ashley sweetheart but I am going to look after you..."

"But if he catches me Tony, you know what he will do. I can't stop thinking about what he will do to me. I'd rather be dead than go through that again..." She said it before even really thinking about what she had said, but it was the truth. She could see the look of sadness cross Tony's face and she could hear Charlie sigh.

"You will not go through that again, I promise you. This is where I really need you to trust me in sweetheart that I can look after you and get you through this. And CTU is doing everything they can to help."

"What is happening?"

"They are sending out a car to pick us up and take us to a safe house where we will have security. Danny and his family will also have security and so will Dad's PA, Lisa. They are going to catch him baby, we just need to hang in there a little longer."

"What about our apartment? I feel sick even thinking about him going through all of our personal stuff. Who knows what he has taken, or what he has found out about us."

"I know sweetheart, I know, it makes me feel sick too. BUT it is just stuff and we can replace things, we can move and start fresh...whatever we have to do to feel better." He was trying to convince himself just as much as he was Michelle.

They were all quiet for a few minutes as Charlie applied cream to any areas on her stomach and arms he felt needed it. A couple spots he had to put a bandage on it. He stressed to them both how much they needed to keep all of these areas clean and that he would be changing the bandages and putting antiseptic on it often.

Charlie gave Michelle some more pain relief and whilst they waited for that to kick in he went out to check on Natalie and Jess. They were both ready to go and sitting watching TV trying to distract themselves. They had heard all the yelling but knew that they needed to give them privacy and so Natalie was doing her best to keep Jess occupied. Charlie apologised for what was happening and explained that he should have Michelle ready to leave in about half an hour. He suggested they think about what they wanted to eat so that they could pick something up on the way and maybe they could stop off at borders or something and pick up a pile of movies and books for the next week.

Tony and Michelle hugged and kissed whilst Charlie was gone. Tony wanted to push Michelle and understand exactly what had happened but he knew it just wasn't the time. He knew enough. By hearing the Ashley was coming for them it had triggered Michelle off and she had slipped back into that dark place and not being able to think about anything but what had happened with Sam. Clearly his dad had caught her scrubbing herself and that had sparked everything off. He was still shocked over seeing his Dad and Michelle like that. He knew they now had a bond for life. In some ways it was nice to know just how close Michelle was with his family. She really was family now. He just couldn't wait to make it official.

"I can't wait to marry you sweetheart. I want to get married as soon as possible."

Michelle smiled."Me too, I don't want to wait. I'd marry you tonight if I could."

They kissed. "Well maybe this next week we should use the time to plan everything. A whole new fresh start. We can plan it for as soon as possible. As soon as you are feeling better, I want you to walk down the aisle and be my wife!"

"I love you Tony. I love you more than you could imagine."

"Trust me sweetheart, I can imagine."

By the time Charlie was back, the injection had completely kicked in and Michelle was feeling a little out of it and quite chatty. She started to make a few comments that really made Charlie and Tony laugh. She was being a little goofy and it was exactly what they all needed. Tony called CTU and told them they were a little delayed but he would let them know when they were ready to go.

Michelle pulled her tracksuit pants down to show Charlie the top of her thighs where she scrubbed. The medication once again had made her drop her guard and whilst a part of her felt a little self conscious, she didn't care anymore. Charlie had seen just about everything now and it was easier just to get on with it rather than letting it turn into a bigger deal. She felt shy and Charlie and Tony could see she was nervous so they tried to distract her as much as they could. It was hard to smile though, when they were so saddened by what they were seeing. Whilst Charlie changed the bandage on her stomach, Tony cleaned her thighs with the dettol and then applied the cream. Charlie then knelt down beside her. "Michelle please try and be as honest as you can with me...when you are trying to get 'clean' is there any specific areas that are bothering you the most or is it your whole body?"

"And my hair. I feel like I want to wash my hair again and again."

He sighed, she was missing his point. Tony didn't though so he tried. "Sweetheart, I think what Dad means is that we can see that from the areas you have tried to clean the most...like your stomach and thighs, that is what is bothering you the most...right?"

She slightly nodded her head, "Yeah."

Charlie stood up. "Why don't I give you both a couple minutes to talk in private? Can I have a quick word Tony?"

Tony followed his Dad out to the door. "I think you know where I am heading with all this Tony, I just don't want to make Michelle uncomfortable but Tony, if she is ummm...scrubbing her thighs to that extent, I can assure you that..."

"I know...but what do I do?"

"Try to talk to her, I think it would be really good if we did have that woman come in and see Michelle. It doesn't feel appropriate for me to do any of that kind of examination but I strongly believe, now more than ever, that Michelle needs it."

Michelle could actually hear what Charlie said and spoke up. "Please don't make me see someone or have an exam."

They both spun around and looked at her. Charlie felt bad she had overheard, they should have left the room completely.

Tony walked back over to Michelle and Charlie slipped out of the door to give them privacy. Tony sat on the bed and pulled Michelle into his arms. He kissed her on the head. "Dad's right baby, I think you need to be seen by someone...just to make sure everything is ok. I know the idea of it makes you feel very uncomfortable but I would feel so much better knowing that you were 100% ok."

"But I..."

"Chelle...you are not ok. What just happened proves that. I know this is hard but the bottom line is...you were sexually assaulted and you have not been checked properly. Anybody that went through what you did would have to go through this at the hospital straight away. It has been days now and it makes me very nervous. I am asking you to do this for me sweetheart. Will you do this for me?"

Michelle tightened her grip on him. "I can't believe I am saying this..."

Tony sat up a little and shifted his body so he could look into her eyes. "What baby? You can tell me anything."

She closed her eyes and spoke with a weak and quiet voice. "I think I do need to see her because I do have pain..." She stopped when she could see tears welling up in his eyes. She went to pull back but he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back in even closer.

"Why didn't you tell me baby?"

"I'm sorry, when your Dad first asked I was too embarrassed to even have the conversation and I guess I just hoped it would go away..."

"Is it bad pain sweetheart?"

She nodded her head. He held her close and told her how sorry he was. "I know I should have listened to your dad but I'm scared Tony..."

"I understand baby, I know how scary this all is. I can be with you every step of the way if you want me to?"

"Really?"

He kissed her again. "I'm with you for everything Chelle. I'll be by your side for anything. You are not alone, we face this together, ok?"

"Ok. I need you with me."

"Alright, I'm going to call Dad in and have him get it organized. Then do you think you are ready to get out of here and go to the new place? You will feel a lot better there and we can get on with planning the wedding and having fun."

"Yep, the sooner we are out of here, the better."

Tony called his Dad back in. Charlie could tell by the way Tony was holding Michelle and had red eyes that something had happened. He sat on the end of the bed.

"Dad, it would be good if you called that woman. Michelle does need to see her."

Charlie tried to keep as calm and collected as possible. "Needs to see her or is willing to see her?"

Tony squeezed Michelle's hand. "No, needs to see her."

Charlie didn't show it but he felt really frustrated with himself for not forcing the issue a couple days ago when it first came up.

Michelle kept her head down as she spoke. "Sorry Charlie, I was too nervous or something when you first tried to make me see her. I should have listened to you but I just wasn't ready to face it."

"I completely understand Michelle. You need to know that how you feel is completely normal. I should have forced the issue with you. Thank you for telling us. I promise you that you will find this woman very good, she is brilliant at her job."

Michelle nodded her head but still kept her eyes down. Tony kissed the side of her cheek.

"I'll call her now." He looked at his watch, it was just after 7am. "Michelle, is this something that I should be having her come out today or make an appointment for tomorrow?"

"Today."

He nodded his head and walked out of the room to make the call. He was relieved on one hand but very sad on the other.

Joanne answered Charlie's call on the 3rd ring. He apologised for calling so early but she told him it was fine and asked how Jess was. He told her how he felt Jess was going but then explained the reason he was calling was because he needed her to come and see Michelle. Within a few minutes it was clear Charlie didn't have enough information to tell Joanne for her to know whether this was a house call or if Michelle should be bought into her clinic. In the end she asked to speak with Michelle. Charlie warned her that Michelle was very guarded before taking the phone back into the room and asking Michelle to talk to Joanne.

Michelle asked for privacy and so they both left the room whilst she spoke to Joanne. Michelle tried to be as open as possible and answer everything she could.

Once Michelle handed Charlie back the phone he went back to the lounge an Tony stayed in with Michelle.

"Charlie, you need to bring Michelle down to the clinic. This is not a house call. Why wasn't this checked days ago?"

He sighed, "I can't even begin to explain the mayhem at the hospital and it got so bad I ended up having Michelle released into my care. I tried to get her to see you the first day but she assured me she was fine. She felt to nervous, which I completely understand given the circumstances, to speak up. It has taken a lot to get to this point where she has just opened up and asked for help."

"I'm not surprised after what she went through that she has her guard up, that is to be expected. However, I need to see her straight away..."

"How bad do you think this is Joanne?"

"I don't know yet Charlie, I've explained to Michelle that once I have examined her if she wants to go back into your care that you are going to have to know the situation. I can manage it but you still need to be aware. I'll know more once I see her. How quickly can you get her down here?"

"We will leave in a couple minutes. Thanks Joanne."

Charlie went back into the room. "Thanks for talking to Joanne Michelle. We need to take you down to the clinic straight away...

"She can't come here?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm sorry but this needs to be done at her clinic. Tony can go in with you, I'll have the girls go pick out some books and movies whilst they wait and then we can head over to the new place."

"Ok, you are coming to right? I mean you will be there as soon as I get out?"

Charlie smiled on the inside. She really did trust him and that was a good feeling. "Yes, I'll be waiting for you both. Joanne told me that she mentioned to you that she will have to bring me up-to-date on the situation if I am going to continue to care for you. If you need any follow-ups, I can take you back to her but I do need to understand your whole medical situation. Is that alright?"

"Yes, I understand. Thanks."

He smiled and told them to get ready because they needed to leave in a minute. Tony called CTU and asked for the car to come. It would be there in 10 minutes. Charlie left the room to get Natalie and Jess ready.

Michelle kissed Tony on the lips. "I know it sounds dumb but what just happened, I mean just before with your dad and then just now, feels like I just took a really big step to getting better."

"That doesn't sound dumb at all baby. I completely agree. It is a huge step and I am very proud of you."

"I just want to get back to normal. Back to us having fun and playing around. I really want to put all of this behind us and try and just look forward to the future."

"You have no idea how good that sounds to me. We are getting there sweetheart. It is still really early days you know...I think we are doing well. This time in a week we will be 100 times better. And then before you know it we will be back at work and getting ready for the little one..."

"We need to make a nursery..."

Tony smiled. "You know, the apartment isn't really big enough for a family. Maybe we should move. Get a house and have a whole new start. We are going to have to have room to give this little guy a brother or sister soon you know..."

Michelle laughed. "Have you already decided it is going to be a boy?"

"I know it is! Strong, manly Almeida genes baby! I have a feeling you have a little baseball star in that belly."

They both laughed and then kissed. It was going to be a hard next couple of days but Michelle felt ready to start facing it with Tony.

**As you know all my chapters are pretty long an take awhile for me to write. If you are reading this story and want me to continue please take a minute to review and let me know what you think and if I should continue. No point writing it anymore if no one is reading. Thanks for taking the time:)**


	19. Chapter 19

**tHANKS SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS GUYS, YOU ALL ROCK. I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS CHAPTER:)**

CTU was sending cars over to pick them up and take them to a safe house about 30 miles away. They were trying to find Ashley but no luck yet. His mum last saw him 6 hours ago and he hadn't been back to the hospital in the last few hours either, although Sam has received a few phone calls. Chloe was trying to pull them up. He had purchased a gun this morning at 3rd and Vine and so they knew he was armed and quite possibly off his head on drugs. Tony explained the situation to his Dad.

"Fucking hell..."

"We just need to get the girls down to the cars and to the hospital and then the safe house and then everything will be ok. There will be 24 hour security and CTU will find him soon."

"Ok, let's do this then."

* * *

25 minutes later and they were all packed and ready to leave. They were not going to carry their bags, an officer would come and collect everything for them, all they needed was their wallets, phone and Charles's medical case.

They had a couple men from the hotel help escort them downstairs to wait for the car. Charlie and Tony walked on the outside with the girls in the middle. Tony had his arm around Michelle, who insisted she was fine to walk, although he could tell by the amount he had to support her she was still really struggling. Although Natalie and Jess were a little tearful, they were both doing a great job of keeping it together and doing everything the men asked them to do. Michelle continued to amaze Tony as she suggested different systems and ideas for tracing Ashley. Twice he called Chloe and gave her instructions after an idea Michelle had. Even with everything she was going through, she still managed to keep a clear head about the best ways to utilize the resources at CTU.

A black SUV was sitting out the front of the hotel lobby. Everyone went to walk out to it but Tony pulled them back. "Hang on; I want to check it is CTU."

Just as he finished saying that, one of the hotel staff approached him, "Mr. Almeida?"

"Yes. Is that our car?"

The man looked a little caught off guard but then answered yes. Tony hesitated for a second but then the man began to usher the girls out of the door. Tony tried to step out in front of them.

They were only 2 steps outside when they heard Jess's name being yelled. They all turned to see Ashley rushing towards them. Tony screamed at them all to get back inside. Both he and Charlie tried to stand in front of the girls.

Tony looked at the car expecting agents to step out and help but no one did. He didn't have a weapon on him. He hadn't had his in the hospital and Chapelle was organising for one of the agents to bring him his kit when they came to get him. Ashley pulled out his gun and waved it in the air. "DON'T MOVE!"

Tony told them all to keep going and get back through the door but then Ashley fired a shot in the air making everyone stop. "I said, don't fucking move!"

Tony put his hands in the air. "Don't do this Ashley. You are surrounded with agents, do not make this situation any worse than it has to be."

"Worse? How could it get any fucking worse than it is? Those two bitches are going to put me and Sam in jail forever. I can't go to jail."

"Ashley, you drop the weapon and I give you my word I will do everything I can to help you. I know Sam dragged you into this mess, I can help you out of it."

"Bullshit. You don't give a shit about me. Jess and Michelle, come here."

Tony stepped in front of the girls. "They are not going anywhere Ashley. Drop the gun. You have about a minute before you will have 20 agents on you and..."

Ashley fired another shot, this time it just missed Tony. Natalie and Jess screamed. "ASHLEY, if you shoot any of us, you will never see the light of day again. Is that what you want? You want to be a murderer?"

"Michelle and Jess, come here now. If you don't, Tony will be the first to go."

Michelle yanked herself out of Tony's grip and stepped forward. Tony went to pull her back but she turned and stared at him. "No Tony, I have to."

"Don't you dare Michelle. I will not lose you. Help is going to be here any second, DON'T MOVE!"

Another bullet went flying past Tony's head. 3 inches more to the left and it would have hit him. Michelle was sure that Ashley had meant to hit Tony, he was just a bad shot, but the next one might not miss. Everyone was screaming and she could see people running off the street into cars or shops out of the corner of her eyes. Charlie was holding Jess and trying to stand directly in front of her. As Tony went again to pull Michelle back in she pushed him in the chest away from her. He had tears streaming down his cheeks and the most devastated expression on his face that she had ever seen. She knew she would never forget the look in Tony's eyes at this moment. She could hear Ashley yelling at her to keep coming to him. Everything else was happening so fast and was a blur except the way Tony was looking at her and begging her not to move. He continued to try and grab her even though he was being fired at. The look of anger that flashed across his eyes as he hissed at her to stop. "I can't Tony, he is trying to kill you."

"I don't fucking care. Don't you dare disobey me Michelle. Don't take one more fucking step!"

She was shocked but barked back. "I will not lose you Tony. I love you."

She turned to Ashley. "Stop shooting. I'll come but if you take one more shot at Tony then I won't move."

Ashley fired again, "Keep walking NOW!" He was clearly absolutely off his tree on drugs, his words were slurred and he could barely keep the gun still. "AND JESS...GET THE FUCK OVER HERE."

Charlie had basically forced Jess onto the ground and was covering her body with his. He screamed at her over and over not to move. Michelle could hear Jess wailing, she took another step back away from Tony towards Ashley. She hoped if she moved slowly than enough time would pass that CTU would get there. Tony was glaring at her and she felt like he would never ever forgive her for her actions. But how could she just stand there and let Ashley shoot him? If Tony was killed, she would never be able to live with herself. He tried to reach for her again. "Stop it Tony. Get back, just fucking stop."

"Help is going to be here in a second Celle. Don't you dare go with him, he is going to kill you. Stop fucking moving. How could you do this?"

"I can't stand here and watch you die Tony. This is not your choice."

"I mean it Michelle, don't you take one more god damn step..."

Ashley screamed again at Jess to get up and come to him. She was struggling out of her Dad's grip, trying to get up. Michelle screamed at her. "Stay down Jess, don't move."

Tony glared at Michelle as though she had just betrayed him in the biggest way possible. She was telling Jess not to move and yet she was going to just hand herself over to Ashley. She hesitated for a moment and when Ashley saw her stop walking he fired again. This time the bullet skimmed the side of Tony's leg. It only scrapped past him but the shock of it was enough to make him stumble. Michelle screamed and then turned to Ashley and begged him to stop firing. He yelled at her to keep walking if she wanted him to stop. Tony looked up at her, "Don't do this to me, please don't fucking do this to me Michelle..."

"How can I not?" She took a few more steps toward Ashley. His gun was now on her as she walked towards him. She braced herself that he was going to fire at her next. Everything was over. The anger she felt at Tony for continuing to move and put himself in the position of being fired at and of course the anger she had at Ashley was so over powering she felt like she could barely breathe. As she took another step she could hear Tony trying to move toward her still and he was screaming at her. Between the screams of Natalie and Jess, Ashley yelling at her and Tony screaming at her it was hard to hear any of them. For a few moments she blocked everything out to the point that her whole world went silent. Everything was in slow motion and she couldn't hear a thing anymore, she wondered if she had been shot. She looked Ashley in the eyes and could see how much he was panicking, he had drool coming out of his mouth and his whole body was twitching. He trained the gun directly at her, "You fucking bitch..."

There was another gun shot. Michelle was tackled to the ground, she had no idea what was going on but she couldn't move at all, someone's weight was pushing her into the pavement and she couldn't move an inch. It felt like hours but was only seconds before she recognized the sound of a swat team all around them. The shot that had been fired was from an agent shooting Ashley. One bullet in the head.

She didn't know it was Tony on top of her until she heard him yelling into her ear, "Don't move, just stay down. Stay down Michelle...tactical is here." He kept repeating his words over and over and over and she wondered how on earth he was managing to pin her to the ground so much that she couldn't move at all. It felt like his body was covering every inch of hers. Again, everything went silent for her and all she could hear was Tony's heavy breathing and yelling at her. The anger in his voice was so evident it sent shivers through her. She had never heard that tone before and she wondered if he would ever be able to look at her the same way again. In return, she was furious at him. How could he have continued to keep moving and trying to grab her when someone was shooting at him? How would she have ever lived with herself if Tony had been killed because she wouldn't give herself up?

Both Tony and Michelle were unable to see past their own anger to see the other ones point of view. They both felt like the other one was prepared to die from them and the thought of losing each other was too much to bear. They had been in the same position, faced with the same dilemma and yet neither one of them could see it that way. They both just couldn't see why the other one wouldn't do as they asked. The entire ordeal had last 7 minutes and they were both sure that entire time that one or both of them was going to die. It hadn't sunk in or registered yet that it was over and Ashley was dead.

Agent Baker stood over them, "Tony, Michelle, you are safe now. Hostile is down. Are you hurt?"

Tony didn't want to move, he didn't want to let Michelle go. As long as he had her like this, no one else could touch her or hurt her. He still couldn't believe she was alive, that he hadn't lost her. He could feel her struggling beneath him, trying to move but he held on for a few moments longer.

Charlie put his arms under Tony's armpits and pulled him up off Michelle. He had watched Tony dive onto Michelle when the gun shot had gone off, covering her body with his and forcing her down to the ground. Had the bullet been at Michelle, there was a good chance Tony would have been hit trying to save her. Jess and Natalie had been taken by agents into the lobby of the hotel but Tony hadn't moved yet and it took him and Baker to get Tony completely off Michelle and pull them both to their feet. He told them repeatedly that it was over, that they were all safe and everything was going to be ok but he could see that neither one of them could really register that. Along with Baker and a couple of other agents they were both taken into a room just off from the lobby. There were a few couches in there and they were both placed down onto them. Neither one of them had spoken a word since they were outside. Charlie dreaded to think of Michelle's injuries and what state she might be in.

Within a couple of minutes the room was packed with the whole family and about 5 agents from CTU. Questions were flying all over the place and each family member was getting checked out. When they got to Tony he pushed them away. "I'm fine, we need to check Michelle."

"We will Sir, but you need to be treated as well."

Tony watched as Michelle looked up to see 2 medics coming at her. They asked her to remove her sweatshirt and started to smoother her. Panic flashed across her face at thought of more strange men touching her. She told them to leave her alone. "We are just trying to help Michelle. You are safe now but we can see you are bleeding and need help. Everything is going to be ok."

Michelle shook her head, "No, don't touch me. Please."

Tony scanned the room for his Dad and when they caught eye contact he waved him over. He slid across the couch so he was right next to Michelle. He put his hands out in front of her and spoke gently to the EMT's. "It's ok guys, can you give us a few minutes?"

"Michelle really needs attention Mr. Almeida..."

Michelle's voice was quiet but firm. "Where is Charlie?"

Just as she finished speaking, Charlie appeared in front of them. No one even really knew what to say. They were still absolutely pumped full of adrenaline and panic. Tony looked up at Charlie. "Chelle only trusts you Dad. Can you help?"

Charlie knelt down in front of them both. He could see that they were both still in shock. He nodded his head. "Of course." It only took Charlie a minute to do a quick scan of Michelle to know she needed to go to the hospital. He looked around at all of the people in the room, he could tell that they were making them feel completely overwhelmed. "Tony, Michelle needs to go to the hospital. We were meant to be going down anyways, I suggest we go straight there."

Tony looked at Michelle. All he wanted to do was hold her in his arms but he couldn't. He had never felt the way he did right now, he didn't even know how he felt. He was so angry at what had happened he couldn't comprehend it. Why the hell had CTU taken those extra few minutes to get to them? Why did the hotel staff member tell him that was there car? And more than anything, how the hell could Michelle have just given herself up for him so easily. After everything they had been through, all the times he had tried to tell her how much he loved her and how important she was, she was willing to just let herself be taken for him. He wanted to scream at the top of his lungs he was so hysterical. She wasn't looking at him, she was still looking around the room, at everything and everyone but him. "Is that ok Michelle?"

"Yeah, I want to get out of here."

He slammed his hand on the sofa as he pushed himself up to go and find agent Baker. He was pissed beyond belief. She was alive, but had he lost her anyway? He thought about how he had spoken to her and he knew she would never forget that. He would never forget the look of shock and desperation in her eyes as she looked back at him. He had to get his family out of here as soon as possible. If they were going to deal with this, they needed to be on their own. He found Baker interviewing the hotel staff member that had told them it was their van. The guy was giving Baker a hard time, saying he was just doing his job. Tony was about to explode. He stood next to Baker in front of them man. "Why the fuck did you tell me that was our car?"

"I thought it was man."

"Why?"

"Dunno, just..."

Before he knew what he was doing, Tony punched the guy as hard as he could in the face. The guys head rolled to the side and blood poured out of his mouth. Tony grabbed his chin and made him look at him. "I'm going to ask you one more time, why the fuck did you tell me that was our car?"

The man looked at Baker for help but when he saw Baker wasn't going to step in and help his eyes started to water and his lip quivered. "Look some guy came in just before and gave me a couple hundred bucks to get you guys out on the street when you came down. I didn't even know if it really was your car or not. When you asked the question I just said yes so you would go. I had no idea what it was all about. I just..."

Tony didn't let him finish. "I nearly lost my family because of you." He was going to continue and push the man for more information but he decided that the other agents could do that, his priority right now was his family. He pulled Baker to the side.

"Look ahh, I need to get my family to the hospital. Are you ok to finish up here?"

"Yes Tony, just take care of Michelle. I'll contact you once I know a little more of what the hell happened here this morning. We will have to get debriefs done with you all as soon as you think the family is up to it."

"Thanks, I'll talk to Ryan and organize something as soon as I know which way is up. Can you have a car pull up to the front? I'd like Sims to drive us."

"Sure thing Tony. Make your way out now, I'll make sure Sims is ready to go."

Baker then took Tony over to their make-shift station and gave him his gun and kit. Tony thanked him for his help and then went to get Natalie and Jess.

Charlie had been standing next to Michelle trying to figure out where to even start with her when he heard Tony yelling, he turned just in time to see Tony punch the guys lights out. He felt like going over and giving the guy a second round. He looked back at Michelle. "Hang in there Chelle, we will be out of here in a couple minutes, ok?"

"Ok. Is Natalie and Jess ok? Where are they?"

"They are next door with a couple EMT's getting checked out but they are both fine. I think Jess is going to need to get some stitches on her knee from me pushing her down on the concrete but nothing to serious." He stopped and moved his head so he was right in front of Michelle and she would be forced to actually look at him. "It's going to be ok you know."

She surprised him when she sadly shook her head and said quietly, "I'm not so sure."

"Don't say that Chelle..."

She finally stopped and looked at him dead in the eyes, "How could he do that Charlie? Why did Tony do that? Ashley was shooting at him!"

Charlie didn't really know what to say. His first reaction was to ask her how the hell she could do what she had done but he knew that wasn't fair to attack back when once again, all Michelle had done was try and save a member of his family's life. And of course he knew why Tony had done exactly what he had done, of course he would have. "He loves you more than you could imagine Chelle."

"Not anymore I am sure."

Charlie actually stumbled when she said that. Her voice was so quiet and weak and she had tears running down her cheeks. She was an absolute mess and he could tell every minute that passed she was just withdrawing. He was floored by her comment. He went to open his mouth, although he didn't know what he was going to say when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Tony.

"Let's go. A car is out the front to take us to your hospital."

Natalie and Jess were with Tony and they were both quiet, they all were. No one knew where to start or what to do so they simply just followed the motions and did what they were told. Michelle went to try and get up but Tony told her not to move. He bent down and picked her up in his arms. She looked surprised but he was so relieved when she grabbed hold of him tightly. He used one hand to gently push her head into his chest.

Tony led the family out to the car and they all piled in. It was a large van and he was able to sit with Michelle in the back couple seats on their own. He sat with her on his lap and she kept her head resting against his chest. They didn't talk but he was just so happy to be so close to her. He had no idea what she was thinking, it scared the hell out of him to know. As they drove to the hospital he watched as his whole family just stared at each other in disbelief over what had happened. Charlie had an arm around Jess and Natalie and every couple minutes he would kiss them on the head. Jess kept looking back over at Tony and Michelle and Tony gave her a wink and told her he loved her and that it would be ok. She told him she loved him too.

* * *

At the hospital everything happened so quickly. Tony had carried Michelle in and they were all escorted to a couple rooms next to each other. Charlie disappeared for a few minutes to organize his staff and to contact Joanne on her cell. She was at the hospital waiting for them and so he directed her to the room Michelle had been taken to. Whilst he was gone another doctor walked into the room and started to ask Michelle and Tony questions.

Michelle was lying on the bed but had curled her body up under the blankets. "Where is Charlie?"

"Dr. Almeida?"

She nodded her head.

Tony stepped forward. "I'm Tony, Charlie's son. He should be back in a minute, he was just going to organize a few things."

"Nice to meet you. Whilst we wait, I'll get started. I'll get you something for the pain Michelle and then we can go from there."

She shook her head. "I need to see Charlie."

Tony turned to the doctor and asked if he could have a minute alone with Michelle. He stepped out of the room. Tony walked over and sat on the end of the bed. This whole thing felt so strange. He should have been holding her, comforting her, instead he felt like she didn't want him near her. "Sweetheart, can you just let this guy get you something for the pain and..."

"I don't want another man touching me Tony."

He understood but he was desperate for her to get some relief as soon as possible. "I know baby but..."

"Tony, I don't mean to be a brat and if your Dad doesn't want to treat me then fine but I don't trust anyone else. I don't want one more person I don't know touching me. I don't care if that means I have to wait."

"Ok, want me to go and look for Dad?"

Michelle didn't want to be left alone. She was in so much pain she was beside herself but the thought of being there on her own was worse than the pain. He started to get up and she panicked. "No..."

"No?"

"Don't go."

Tony sighed in relief to himself. At least she wasn't pushing him away. She made him feel needed and that's exactly what he wanted right now. He went to take her hand and sit beside her when she said, "Unless you want to ..."

He shook his head. "What do you mean?"

"If you want to go or if you want to go see you mom and sister..."

Why did she have to do that? Make him feel like she really needed him and then a second later take the feeling away. It frustrated him. He wasn't himself at the moment, none of them were. "Don't do this to me Chelle. Just tell me that you want me here..."

Before she had a chance to answer, Charlie came rushing through the door. "Sorry, sorry. I just had to get some things cleared up and call Joanne." He stopped and looked at them both. They looked miserable and like he had caught them in the middle of an argument. He knew the best thing he could do for either of them at the moment was force them to talk and be honest with how they were feeling. If they didn't face this thing head on it was going to be even worse than it already was. He had bought pain injections with him and he immediately made his way over to Michelle. "What is going on here with you two?"

Tony was a little surprised at his Dad for being so abrupt. "Michelle only trusts you Dad. She doesn't want another doctor treating her and I was just trying to ask Michelle if she wanted me to stay..."

Charlie looked at them both and then at Michelle as he spoke. "Of course she wants you to stay. I've asked my assistant John to come up and he will treat your leg Tony. He will be here in a few minutes." Charlie pulled the covers out of Michelle's hands and pushed them back. They had been through this routine now a pile of times and usually it was something that they did slowly and together at a pace Michelle was comfortable with. However, right now he didn't have that luxury. She needed attention pretty quick in a few different ways and he also had Joanne on her way up. He reached for the top of her track suit pants. "Just giving you an injection like usual, ok?"

She nodded her head but looked at him with confusion. She let him pull the trackies down enough to the top of her thigh and administer the injection without saying a word. Michelle was trying to figure out what the hell was going on. It felt like there was so much anger and frustration in the room from all 3 of them that it didn't feel the same anymore and she quickly started to feel alone and uncomfortable. She wanted to reach out to them but she didn't know how. She could understand the attitude from Tony but was Charlie upset with her as well now?

She could hear Tony breathing so heavily, almost like he was getting more and more worked up with each breath. She tried to look anywhere but at either of them. She knew within seconds Charlie was going to make her get into a gown and it was all going to begin. She wished he could just knock her out so she didn't have to deal with any of it. She considered asking him when out of nowhere Tony's voice boomed at her. "HE WAS GOING TO KILL YOU!"

He had barely even finished before she was able to retaliate. "AND HE WAS TRYING TO KILL YOU!"

They glared at each other for a moment. Then Michelle went again. "He was actually shooting at you Tony. Don't you get that if any of those bullets had actually..."

"I DON'T CARE! How could you hand yourself over? You knew he was going to kill you."

"What the hell was I supposed to do? Just stand there and watch him kill you and then everyone else?"

"CTU was on their way, we could have beaten him Chelle but you just..."

"Tony, he was shooting at you. I didn't have time to sit and wonder if CTU was going to turn up in the next couple minutes...if I didn't start walking then you would be dead and that would be because of me."

Charlie knew this was good, they needed to have this out but at the same time, he needed to be attending to her. He went to close the door and grabbed a gown. "I need to get you into this Michelle. Tony I need your help."

They didn't respond to Charlie but Tony did walk over to the bed. He really felt sorry for Michelle that with the way things were between them she had to be in such a vulnerable position and rely on them to help her like this. He wondered how to do it. The way she was looking at him, he wondered if she would even let her come near him. He tried to soften his voice as he stood in front of her. "Are you going to let me help you change?"

"Are you going to hate me for what I did Tony?"

"HATE? You think I hate you? What the fuck?" He gripped onto the rails of the end of the bed. His whole body was consumed with Michelle. "I am so in love with you, I can barely breathe. Every part of me, you have taken Michelle. You are my absolute everything. How dare you use that word with me. How dare you think that."

Michelle burst into tears. She didn't think she had ever been more relieved in her entire life. As soon as the first tear came, the rest followed quicker than the last and within seconds she felt hysterical. "Then what was I meant to do? I'm begging you to tell me, what would you have done if you were me?"

He couldn't handle the distance between them any longer. He went to her and pulled her up into his arms and held her tightly. She gripped onto his body so hard and pushed her head into his shoulder. "You've never looked at me the way you did before, I felt like with each step I took I lost you but if I didn't take the step then I really would have lost you anyway." He went to talk but she just kept going. It was hard to understand her because she was sobbing so hard. Tony was in tears now as well. "And Charlie is angry, I feel like I have betrayed you all or something..."

Charlie felt like the way she had said that, was although he wasn't in the room. He felt terrible he had made her feel that way. It wasn't out of anger, it was out of sheer fear and not knowing what the hell to do. He figured he would never feel in more debt to anyone in his life than he did to Michelle for what she was prepared to go through for his family. No one would ever be able to have the type of place in his heart that she did. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he stood there watching Tony hold her and try and comfort her.

Tony didn't know how to answer Michelle because for the first time since this had all happened he really understood that she had been in exactly the same position as he had been in. That she must have felt exactly the same way he had. It had been so one sided in his mind from the second it happened but now when he had had a chance to think, It hit him like a ton of bricks and it seemed so simple and obvious it was hard to believe he could have looked at it any other way. He kissed the side of her head. "Baby, you didn't betray anyone, I am so sorry. I get it now. I get it. I was only thinking about it from my side, from the fact that I was about to lose you. I wasn't thinking about the fact that you must have felt the same way I did..."

"I am so angry with you Tony. All I can think about is how you could keep chasing me whilst he was shooting at you..."

"Because I love you and I am never going to give you up without a fight to the last second. No matter what baby."

"I love you more than anything in this world Tony. I can't live without you. I would give myself over for you without a seconds thought...and your family."

"I know baby, but no more. It is over. We have to get through this together." He pulled back a little so he could look into her eyes. She was nodding her head and he felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders. He knew they had so much to face and get through still but as long as they were doing it together he could handle that. As long as he could hold her and be close to her, he could manage anything. He gave her a small smile. "Let's get you sorted out ok?"

She started to lie back down. "Ok."

Tony caught her before she could rest back down. "I need to get you out of this top baby."

Charlie and Tony both helped Michelle out of her clothes and into the gown. Charlie was still crying and it took him a few minutes before he was able to speak. "I'm sorry for how I made you feel. I don't know how to deal with any of this. I love you both so much and I feel like my heart is broken. I can only handle this if we..."

Michelle reached out and hugged him. She pulled him in and he wrapped his arms around her. He let his body collapse into the hug and stay like that for a few moments. He needed this so much. "You didn't do anything wrong Charlie. You know you are the only one I trust, I wouldn't even let the other doctor come near me."

He smiled. "I don't want to let you down Michelle."

"You can't. You won't. I need you Charlie."

"I'll look after you, I promise."

* * *

Like Jess, Michelle had cuts and scrapes all down her legs from being pushed into the concrete pavement at such force. Some of her stitches had come out and she had terrible bruises all over her body. In the end, he half sedated her as he got her cleaned up. Whilst he was doing that and she was unaware of what was going on, John came in and they set Tony up on a stretch bed next to her and stitched his wound up as well. His ankle was very swollen and he also had a pile of bruises from tackling Michelle to the ground. Joanne waited patiently outside for them to get Michelle good enough to see her. Charlie was working up a sweat from running back and forth between the 2 rooms checking on Jess and Natalie as well.

Once Tony was taken care of, he got up on the bed next to Michelle and held her as she slept. His mom and sister came into the room and they all sat together as they waited for her to wake up. Nothing more could be done until Michelle was alert enough to talk to Joanne. Natalie sat holding Tony's hand, she didn't want to let go. Every couple minutes she would kiss the back of his hand and tell him that she loved him. He did everything he could to assure her that it was all going to be ok. After a little while, Joanne came into the room and sat with the family and talked to them about what had happened. Jess seemed happy to have her there and it helped them all to try and talk about how they were feeling. Mostly they were in shock and trying to understand how they were supposed to be feeling. Joanne tried to assure them that how they were feeling was completely normal. That this was going to take time and that they had to keep sticking together and talking this out. Even Charlie ended up opening up and talking to Joanne more as a patient than as a colleague.

Michelle occasionally stirred and opened her eyes and Tony would kiss her forehead and tell her he loved her and to keep resting. After a moment or two she would fall back asleep. At one point she moved positions and pushed her head into his chest and asked, "What's going on?"

"I want you to get as much sleep as possible baby. We are all here and we are not going anywhere."

"I love you and I love being your wife."

That made Tony and everyone else actually smile and laugh a little. Tony thought that that was quite possibly the best thing he had ever heard. He wasn't going to correct that one. He kissed her on the cheek, "And I love being your husband, now go back to sleep."

**Thanks for reading. I hope you liked it. Please review if you want me to continue to write this story and post here. I really appreciate you taking the time. Thanks!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Sorry it has been so long between chapters. I didn't know if I should continue or not or if people were still reading this. I am working on getting them back to a good happy place, I just don't want to ignore how intense this situation would be on them all so I have to work through it but hopefully I am giving the storyline justice.**

**I don't own 24 etc...**

Charlie, Natalie and Jess waited in another room whilst Joanne was in with Tony and Michelle. It had been hours now since the attack and finally everyone had at least come to terms with what had happened, dealing with it was another issue. Jess was full of questions. Tony had explained to them that until Sam was out of hospital and in jail and it was understood what the situation would be, they were all going to stay at the safe house. Jess was convinced that Sam would try something else, even if he wasn't well enough to do it himself. She thought back to just a few weeks ago to how naive she had been to how rough life could really be. Tony and Michelle worked in a world of bad people but the until now, the worst she had ever dealt with was bitchy girls in high school. It had been a real eye opener and the world seemed like a different place to her now.

Her parents had offered that she come move back home with them for awhile until she felt comfortable to go out on her own again or with a flat mate. She had agreed straight away, she couldn't bare the thought of having to live on her own at the moment and she knew she needed to be around her family as much as possible. Natalie was so relieved when Jess said yes straight away, she was thrilled at the thought of having her little girl home again to look after and make sure she was doing ok.

Of course it was going to be a little while before they had to deal with any of this. They might be in the safe house for weeks yet. Ryan Chapelle had dropped in for a few minutes to check in on them all. He didn't stay once he learned Michelle was in with another doctor and might be awhile. He gave Charlie some information of how things would work at the safe house, who would be looking after them and asked that they have Tony call him as soon as possible. He explained that he would have a couple agents come out to the house the following day to debrief them all instead of them having to come to the office. Charlie could tell that Ryan seemed genuinely sorry for what they had all been through and a little worried at how Tony and Michelle might pull up after all of this.

* * *

Joanne stepped out of the room and asked Charlie to join her in the hall to talk.

"How is she Joanne?"

"I tell you Charlie, I've been doing this for 20 years and I don't think I have ever come across someone as guarded as Michelle. Usually I can get a read on patient within minutes but Michelle was impossible to read and I could only get answers to what she wanted to tell me."

"Well, unfortunately for the situation she is in, Michelle's line of work has taught her to be this way."

Joanne smiled a little, "She must be good at her job because I can tell you I tried every trick in my book to get her to offer up information or let me know how she truly felt and it was clear as day she knew what I was doing..."

"So did she talk at all?"

"Yeah, I got what I needed to help her physically, I'll get to that in a second but I don't think I was of any use to her emotionally what-so-ever."

He sighed. "And Tony? How did he seem to you?"

Joanne paused for a moment whilst someone past them in the hall. She could see how tired and worn out Charlie was, she felt horrible for the whole family. "Angry, frustrated, scared and relieved. But Charlie, he has a lot of anger built up and I think he needs to get it out or else he is going to explode. He was great with trying to make Michelle comfortable and helping to answer any questions but I can tell that he is really upset by what has happened. I think he is shouldering a lot of blame and I tell you, he is absolutely scared to death of losing Michelle. He needs a lot of support from all of you and Michelle to really understand that she is going to be ok and not going anywhere."

Charlie was nodding his head as he listened. None of that surprised him. "They've been through more in the last couple weeks then most would ever imagine in a life time. I think it is going to take a lot to help them calm down."

"Just keep making him be involved with looking after Michelle. That will be a huge help I think...if you keep him feeling like he is improving her situation and is needed, does that make sense?"

"Yes, thank Joanne. Now what is the story with Michelle?"

* * *

An hour later and they were ready to be taken to the safe house. Michelle and Tony had both fallen asleep after seeing Joanne and so Charlie, Natalie and Jess had something to eat, wrote out lists of things they wanted to be picked up from their homes and then finally when the car arrived to take them they made their way into the room to wake them up.

Michelle was awake, lying quietly staring at the ceiling. She was gently stroking Tony's hair as he slept soundly on the bed next to her. She looked over and smiled at them all as they piled in the room. One by one they come over and gave her a kiss hello. "Is it time to go?" She whispered.

Jess was standing next to Michelle. "Yup. Everything should be ready for us. Guess what?"

"What?" Michelle was intrigued over what Jess could be a little excited about.

"Dad booked a huge limousine for us all to go in to the safe house. It is huge!"

Michelle smiled and looked at Charlie who shrugged his shoulders and smiled. "It's a long drive and I figured with the 5 of us we might as well be comfortable."

"AND...We are going to pick up some pizza to eat on the way. You guys must be starving!"

Michelle liked seeing Jess smile, it made her feel good. "Sounds perfect. Thank you! Shall I wake sleepy head?"

They all nodded. Michelle gently stroked Tony's face and said his name. He didn't even stir the first couple times, in the end she had to actually take his hand and squeeze it and say his name loudly before his eyes began to open. It took him a second to figure out where he was and then like a switch his eyes sprung to life and he scanned Michelle and everyone else to see that all was ok. Jess told Tony about the limo and food and he told her it sounded like fun and that he was starving as well.

An agent was waiting outside the room and when they were ready he started to walk them all out to the car. Tony wheeled Michelle in a chair and Charlie hung back with the 2 of them. When there was enough space between them and the girls he spoke quietly. "Joanne filled me in on everything."

Michelle went red straight away and Charlie noticed, so did Tony. "It's ok Michelle, this is Dr. Almeida for a minute ok?"

That made her smile. "Ok."

"So you both understand we need to be careful the next week or so and that you need to have a couple more follow-ups?"

They both nodded. "Obviously you both know how important it was that Michelle was checked and...and I am just glad you spoke up Michelle. I know you were nervous and I understand how uncomfortable you feel about this but it wasn't something that could just be ignored."

Tony made a loud sigh before throwing his hands in the air. "I swear, if I ever see that fucking bastard again, I will kill him. He doesn't deserve to be alive, he is absolute fucking scum!" Tony had kept his voice down but it was so full of hurt and anger it had taken both Charlie and Michelle by surprise.

Charlie put his hand on Tony's shoulder. "I know you are so angry that he touched Michelle and hurt her but you can't..."

Tony stopped wheeling Michelle and took a couple steps back pulling his Dad with him. Tony leaned in close to his Dad. "Did Joanne tell you her injuries? How that fucking prick hurt her when he touched her?"

"Yes she did. That was what I was worried about Tony. BUT she will be ok and she will heal, I promise."

"I tried to be somewhat calm in front of Michelle when Joanne was with us but I swear Dad, I just feel like exploding..."

Charlie pulled Tony into a hug. "I know...I know son. I can only imagine how hard that must have been for you to hear. You did a good, brave thing by staying in there by Chelle's side."

"I don't really understand...I mean I already knew what happened but...but...damn this feels like it just gets harder and harder Dad."

"Tony, don't forget everything else that just happened today..."

"I know..." They both made their way back to Michelle.

As Tony started pushing her again, Charlie went back to talking to the both of them. They all just pretended nothing had just happened. "So anyway, thank you for seeing Joanne Michelle. We will bring you back for a check in a day or so." He hesitated but then decided to go ahead anyway. "Umm, not that I was too surprised but she did make the point to me that trying to get either of you to talk was like pulling teeth..."

Michelle actually looked up at Charlie and gave him a cheeky smile. "Yeah and I swear she just about used every reverse psychology trick in the book but..." She stopped when she remembered that the whole point was for Michelle to have talked, not do everything she could to avoid it. Her expression changed to sheepish.

Charlie did smile a little, "Battle of the book in there was it?"

"Yeah, I guess I'm used to being the one asking the questions and extracting information not giving it."

Tony watched her adoringly. He decided to make a real effort to keep things light for a bit. "Yeah I bet she could do with Richardson and an interrogation room sometimes!"

Michelle giggled, "Imagine that...Dessler, if you don't tell me how you are feeling I will begin torture..."

Tony and Charlie laughed. "Next time she wants you to talk I should get Jack to give her a few tips..."

Charlie didn't quite get the joke but Michelle did. "God...he's worse than you! Charlie, you think Tony can be pushy when he wants to know something, you should see this guy Jack."

"I've heard quite a few stories about Mr. Bauer, certainly sounds like he gets the job done!"

Tony smiled as he wondered how Jack was going lately. He felt Michelle's hand on his. "Almeida, no one beats you. I bet CTU is falling apart without their superstar director."

"Hardly!" He blushed as she had just completely stroked his ego.

Charlie let them carry on for a few more minutes, mainly because it was nice to see them fooling around a little. However just before they reached the car and their privacy would be lost he tried again. "Anyway, I don't want to ruin the mood but my whole point in bringing that up was that neither one of you is very good at opening up but after what just happened...after EVERYTHING that has happened, you need to."

"Can't we all just talk though Charlie? I didn't mean to sound disrespectful before or anything to Joanne but she has no idea of all that has happened. You guys are the only ones that understand...I mean truly understand, can't we just talk to each other?"

"Will you though?"

They both nodded their head but he knew it wasn't going to be that simple. He didn't want to argue, he would take things a step at a time. They reached the car and they all piled in. The limo had rows of 7 seats up each side and then all across the back. Jess parked herself across the back, Charlie and Natalie took one side and Tony and Michelle took the other. They had called ahead and ordered pizza and so the driver just stopped out the front and Charlie ran in and picked it up for them. The next half hour was spent eating and making small talk about anything that wasn't to do with what had happened.

Natalie felt like it was awkward that they were all avoiding evening mentioning what had happened. Everyone was going to such lengths to pretend like nothing had happened, yet they were all so beaten and worn down that it felt completely wrong. It wasn't like they could sit their laughing about a pile of different things, or talk about simple things like their houses or plans coming up – almost every topic was off the table because it somehow connected back to their situation. It was also hard to be sitting straight across from Michelle who was clearly in pain and struggling to get comfortable and not acknowledge it. Tony's ankle was so swollen now he couldn't even fit a shoe on it and was just wearing a sock. All of them were in the same clothes which were dirty and bloody. Jess' jeans were all ripped at the knees and Natalie could see the bandages where she had needed some stitches. She and Charlie were the only ones that were not hurt. Even that felt wrong.

It all become too much and Natalie couldn't keep it in any longer. "What's going on? Are we all seriously just going to keep acting like nothing happened this morning?"

Charlie was surprised at his wife's outburst. She had been so amazing to him through all this. So incredibly patient and understanding. He knew how hard it must be on her to have to accept that there were some things he couldn't tell her and the amount of times now he had broken down into her arms after looking after Michelle and Tony was adding up quickly. She had been his rock and had allowed everyone else's feelings and needs to dictate what happened. He knew she must be really struggling to have exploded like that. "I don't want to ignore it either honey..."

"Well then, why isn't anyone saying anything?"

Tony's voice was deep and assertive. "I don't think anyone would want to hear what I have to say..."

"Yes I do."

"Seriously mom, you don't. Why don't you tell us how you are doing?" As Tony said it, it dawned on him that that would have been the first time his mom or sister would have ever seen a dead body, not to mention someone getting shot. His stomach did a flip for them.

"I am really sad and angry and frightened and worried. I don't even know where to begin with how I feel but I know I don't want everyone to just ignore it. I can't handle that."

Tony spoke with a gentle voice. "I just realised that you all would have never seen someone be shot before. It's not like it is something Chelle and I are 'use' to but we have dealt with it before. I bet you are all finding that pretty scary."

Jess jumped in. "I'm not. I'm glad he is dead! Now I know he can't come back." She looked at the way everyone was looking at her and sunk her head, "Is that really wrong?"

Tony shook his head. "No Jess, not at all. Ashley put you through hell, I can completely understand if all you feel is relief that he can't hurt you anymore."

Natalie started to cry heavily. She looked at Tony and Michelle and spoke between sobs, "How do you do it? How, when someone has a gun pointed at you do you do what you both did? I don't understand, I couldn't move, I felt like I couldn't even breathe..."

Tony wanted to give his mom a huge hug. He was glad when his Dad wrapped his arms around her. "I don't know mom, just instinct I guess but you were all amazing. You have to know how brave you were. Jess, I saw you trying to get up..."

"Dad pushed me into the ground and I couldn't move. You would have had to let me go dad if CTU didn't come."

"Like hell I would."

There was silence for a second before Jess started again. "Tony was he meaning to just miss you or was he a bad shot?"

This was very hard to talk about without picturing the look on Michelle's face when it was happening. That sick feeling in his stomach started to come back. "The first couple he was just doing warning shots to make us do what he wanted..."

Finally Michelle spoke up. She took everyone by surprise a little as up till now she had been completely silent. "The 1st shot was a warning shot. The 2nd shot he missed you Tony. He was trying to get you."

"But he didn't. And he was a shit shot but if you had gotten much closer it would have been pretty hard for him to miss."

"That was the whole point wasn't it?"

Just like that, things were getting heated again. Jess couldn't stand to hear Tony and Michelle go again. She threw her hands up in the air. "Don't you guys dare start fighting."

Even though he knew they were, "We're not."

Her voice was raised as she basically yelled at them. "Yes you are! And I heard you before at the hospital as well. GOD neither of you get it. For 2 smart agents sometimes you don't get the most obvious things."

"What? Why are you talking to us like this Jess?" Tony was surprised to be challenged by his sister like that.

"Both of you nearly died today trying to protect the other one. You were screaming at each other, begging each other to stop but neither of you would. You were both willing to die for each other. You were ready to die for all of us and YET somehow you can't see that. You get mad with each other about it. I mean why can't you see Tony that Michelle was just doing exactly what you were trying to do?"

He was still stunned but completely ready to have this out. "I might have not gotten it at first Jess but I do now. It's not as fucking simple as you make it sound. As much as I love Michelle for it, I also can't believe she was willing to..." He couldn't say it. He couldn't bring himself to say the words that Michelle was willing to die. He glared at Jess, "How many women do you think would do that for me Jess? Huh?"

Michelle's voice was so much weaker than theirs. "Cause I love you Tony, of course I would."

"It's not usually that simple to people Michelle. Fuck, I've had girlfriends who think giving me a lift somewhere is a big bloody deal. You...you are not like..." He stopped and started again, "You wouldn't listen to a word I said, it was like you had already made your mind up of what you were going to do."

Michelle's voice was getting stronger now. "I had! Of course I had. The second I saw Ashley I knew what was going to happen. I just tried to buy as much time as I could by walking slowly because I knew CTU was coming and I just needed them to get there before Jess..." She stopped, not knowing how to word it.

Jess cut her off anyway, "You were screaming at me to stay down and not move Chelle but you were willing to..."

"Why the hell would we both just give ourselves up straight away?"

Jess was leaning forward like she was ready to stand. "SO WHY THE HELL SHOULD IT HAVE BEEN YOU FIRST? Fucking hell Michelle, do you know how much my brother loves you? How much we all do but that I don't think my brother could make it if he lost you like that!"

Everything was out of control. Tony started to yell something back but Michelle cut them all off. "No decision or choice is ever fucking right for this family is it? Doesn't matter what I do, it is the wrong thing or you think I should have done it differently."

There was silence as her words hung in there air for a second, everyone was utterly dumbfounded by her words. She continued. "You all get so bloody angry at me because I risk my life for you but have you stopped to think that I would never be able to handle losing you? You are my life Tony, I did what I did because I love you and I couldn't stand to lose you OR any of you. Tony you put your life on the line to save me and Jess I watched with my own eyes as you tried to get up and do the same fucking thing so how come either one of you think you have the right to judge my actions?"

Jess was crying. She felt like a little kid in a grownups world that she didn't understand. She was way out of her depth to even know where to begin to express what she meant. "I'm not judging you. I think you are amazing. I just...I just can't handle the thought of losing you or my brother and..."

She went to stand up but Charlie yelled at her to sit down. "I am so fucking angry. Why did this happen? How did he get to us so easily? Why did we have to go through all this? Just because I broke up with Sam? I'm sorry Chelle..."

Natalie was almost hysterical. "No one judges you Chelle, I think we just are amazed at how brave you are, how much you would sacrifice for us..."

"But you all do as well. It isn't just me..."

Tony pulled Michelle into his arms, "It's just like we said before at the hospital sweetheart, we did get to the point of seeing it from each other's point of you...we can't keep losing sight of that..."

Charlie leaned in, "That's right. I was there and I heard you both. The bottom line is you do understand each other's actions because you did and felt the same way. Do you know how lucky we all are that you are like that? If you weren't, the outcome through all of this would have been a lot different. Your love for each other is what saves you. You both know that, I know you can both see that, do not lose sight of it."

The both nodded their heads. Tony tried to hold Michelle closer, "I can't believe how hard this is to even try and talk about it. Jess, do you get it? Can you see Chelle and I sort through this?"

"Yeah, I didn't mean to start a big fight. I feel like everything that comes out of my mouth comes out the wrong way at the moment."

Charlie took Jess's hand. "I think we all feel a little bit like that at the moment."

Tony looked at Michelle to see how she was doing. She frowned at him, "You know, your ex-girlfriends are all a bunch of bitches if they thought giving you a lift somewhere was an effort."

He stared at her for a moment and then laughed. He could hear everyone else laughing as well, even though Michelle looked like she was being totally serious. He kissed her on the lips, "You're right, they are bitches!"

Natalie had stopped crying. "None of them could ever even come close to you Michelle. I'm so glad Tony found you."

Tony pulled her in closer, "What made you even think to say..."

"I don't know, it just popped into my head when you were talking before and it made me angry that they didn't treat you right."

He smiled. "Well, I'm glad because it couldn't have turned out better for me."

"My ex-boyfriends sucked as well ya know." She smiled.

Jess piped in, "Think I can safely say my ex-boyfriend sucked big time too."

They all stopped for a second and then laughed. Even Natalie was able to have a laugh at how the conversation had managed to turn around.

* * *

At the safe house they were greeted by a couple agents that would be securing the premises and checking in on them each day. Tony spent a long time going over everything with the agents and spoke to Ryan Chapelle on the phone to set up the debriefs the following day.

Charlie, Natalie and Jess had watched a movie whilst Tony was on the phone and Michelle had said she was going to be resting in their room. Michelle slowly made her way out to the doorway, "Ummm Charlie, when you are finished with that, do you think you could come help me for a second?"

He jumped up straight away and followed Michelle back into the bedroom. "You ready to have all your bandages checked and some pain medication?"

She nodded her head and crawled up onto the bed. She was so physically and emotionally worn out she didn't know what to do with herself. "Tony's been on the phone forever with work. Do you think they have more leads?"

"He mentioned something about wanting to hear how the interrogation of the hotel staff member went but other than that I am not sure. I think he needs to feel like he is doing something..."

"I know how he feels, this is driving me crazy not being able to do anything. I just want everything sorted out with Sam, especially so Jess can try and start moving on with her life."

Charlie sat on the bed next to Michelle. "Jess will be fine Michelle. She has always been very resilient and I think as long as we all keep making her talk and keep an eye on her, she will be ok."

Michelle just nodded her head. Charlie could see that she was so lost in her thoughts. "I'm sorry for how out of hand things got in the car Chelle. Jess had only heard you and Tony arguing at the start, she didn't realise you had worked things out and I think she is frightened that all of this is going to tear you and Tony apart."

"I don't want her feeling that way, what can I do? It is easy to forget Jess is only 20 and up until recently had probably never seen this side of life. I don't want it to change her, she is so bubbly and full of life..."

"It won't. It might take time but she will bounce back. In the mean time please try not to take things to personally, like her brother when she gets worked up she tends to say things before she has really thought it through. Both of them really wear their hearts on their sleeve."

Michelle smiled. "That is something I find so amazing about Tony. The way he can do the job he does so well even when he has so much going on in his own life. I've learnt a lot from him over the last year."

"Looks like he has learnt a lot from you as well." Charlie stood up and grabbed his case and brought it back over to the bed. "Where do you want to start? Injection?"

"Injection please." She was so use to this now she lay on her back and let Charlie give her the needle. "How are you doing Charlie? After everything that has happened? Can't be easy trying to be the one keeping everyone else together all the time."

Charlie smiled and sat back down next to her. "I'm alright. Worried. All I want is to know that you kids are going to be ok. It felt like we were starting to get there and then all of this happens this morning and it is like a huge step back."

"Least we don't have to worry about Ashley anymore."

"I can't even bear to think about what would have happened if CTU didn't get there when they did. I don't think I'll ever be able to get the images of today out of my head."

Michelle could see the sadness across Charlies face. She felt terrible; he looked like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. "Me either. I'll never forget the way Tony looked at me today. For a little while I really thought he might never forgive me for doing what I did. He was so hurt...I didn't ever want to be the person to make him feel that way."

"That's only because he loves you so much and he was scared to death he was about to lose you. I know we all made a bit of a joke out of it in the car but you really are the most special person to come into Tony's life. No one has ever shown him love like you have."

That made Michelle blush. "Thank you but I feel the same way. I knew there was something really special about Tony the day I met him."

Charlie stood over Michelle and helped her undo the top couple of buttons of her top so he could see the bruise. It was still really dark and swollen. He sighed. He had meant to get it checked when they were at the hospital but with everything else going on he had forgotten. He wasn't happy with how angry and nasty it still looked and that after a few days it wasn't showing any signs of going down. "I should have got this checked today." He half mumbled to himself.

Michelle hated seeing the way Charlie sighed at the sight of the bruise. It made her think of Tony's reaction to it. "It's so ugly..."

Charlie looked up and caught eye contact with her. "It will go away Chelle, it's just taking awhile to calm down."

"You should see how angry Tony gets when he sees it. It makes him sick and..." She stopped wondering if she should be sharing this with Charlie or not but she was beyond caring about having her guard up and she did need to talk. "And I just wish he didn't have to see it...I don't want it to run things between us..."

Charlie knew what she was getting at straight away. He had dealt with a million abused women in his career and Michelle was just like the rest of them. "It's not going to ruin anything between you and Tony. You have to believe that. It just makes Tony sad when he sees it. I mean, I get angry at Sam, I feel terrible knowing the pain it must cause you. If another man laid a finger on Natalie it would kill me BUT it wouldn't take away from how I felt about her. If anything Tony loves you more for being so brave Chelle."

"But I want him to be able to see past the bruises and see me. He gets this glazed look in his eyes and I can tell he can't concentrate on anything else but how angry his is with what happened." She watched as Charlie's eyes dropped to the ground and he sighed. She could see his breathing was getting deeper and she became nervous she had upset him. "Sorry Charlie, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable..."

He looked back at her straight away. "No, no you didn't...not at all. I just wish I knew what to say to make you feel better. This is all so unfair but I promise you Chelle it will get better. Tony is still trying to get his head around what happened and your wounds are a pretty big reminder. I know my son though and he is absolutely head over heels in love with you. Nothing is ever going to change that. You are the beautiful and I don't want you to think just because you have some cuts and bruises that changes anything."

She smiled a little and she could feel her eyes getting watery. "But if this had happened to Natalie...don't answer this if you don't want to...but would you...I mean..." She was desperate to talk to someone about this. Normally she would talk to a girlfriend but she couldn't right now and the person she felt closest to besides Tony was Charlie. She tried again, "would you be turned off? Would you be able to get over knowing that another man..."

He cut her off, "Is that what you are worried about? You think Tony is going to change how he feels about you like that?"

They stared at each other for a moment before Michelle dropped her eyes. Tears made their way down her cheek and she rubbed them away. "Don't worry about it...I shouldn't have bought it up."

"It's ok Chelle. I'm glad you are talking...you need to."

"Yeah but...I know you have dealt with people like me a million times before and you know all the right things to say. I don't want to hear what you are 'meant' to say...I need someone to be honest with me..."

"I'll only ever be honest with Chelle, no matter how hard that might be. You are not just 'another' patient to me." He wanted to hug her, wipe away her tears but he knew how vulnerable she felt and he thought it best to just stay close but give her a little space.

"Ok then...are the burns on my thigh going to scar?"

First question and he instinctively wanted to lie but he had made a promise and so he wouldn't. "Yes. I am not sure to what extent and there are always lots of things you can do to help scars but they won't go away completely on their own."

She nodded her head. "Are you angry at me for not speaking about all that other stuff? I mean, did I make things worse by waiting so long to have Joanne check me out?"

"I'm not angry at all. I completely understand why you would have been nervous and uncomfortable. It's not lost on me how this might feel for you sometimes Chelle to have your fiancé's father treating you. And no I don't think anything is worse because it was a few extra days...I'm glad no more time passed and we can be sure you are being treated properly."

He had barely finished talking before she was onto the next question, "Do you and Natalie think I could have done more to protect Jess..."

"Oh My God Chelle. No. Not at all. We are stunned at how much you did protect her..."

"Do you regret releasing me from the hospital into your care? I mean I know you didn't expect it to be this bad."

He could barely keep up with her. It saddened him to think she had been worrying about all of these things for days now. He wished he had a way to make her truly understand just how highly he thought of her, how in debt he felt to her for all she had done. "I'll never regret releasing you...it has been hard." Before she could get another question in, he turned things around. "What about you Michelle, how have you felt having me care for you?"

She stopped, she was taken off guard at having him ask her that. She still had a pile of questions she needed answers to. She shook her head. "No. You have made me feel comfortable...even with things that I get embarrassed about, you have a way of making me feel like it is ok. I'm a pretty private person usually Charlie and I'm certainly not used to being exposed or feeling so dependent on someone else but you have made it as comfortable as the situation could be. I don't know where I'd be if I didn't have you or Tony."

"I can see how guarded you can be Chelle. And I feel like the more trust we build with each other, the more you let me in. It is easy for me to slip into 'Doctor mode' but I have to keep reminding myself that it is different for you and even if I am a doctor, I am always Tony's Dad to you and that must be a little hard."

"I do trust you..."

The door burst open and Tony came flying in slamming the door behind him. He was seething, his face was so red he looked like he was going to explode and he had sweat dripping on the side of his face. Both Charlie and Michelle asked him what was wrong. Tony was swearing under his breath and looked like he didn't know what to do. He finally stopped pacing and stared at Michelle, almost like he was studying her. He went to speak or yell but stopped himself repeatedly.

Michelle was panicking over what could be wrong with Tony. "Baby, what is it? Please tell me."

He was shaking his head and then finally he dropped his shoulders and said, "Nothing, it's alright. Dad can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Of course." Charlie hopped off the bed.

Michelle was left completely confused. "Wait a second, you can't just come in here like that and not tell me what is going on. Why are you so worked up?"

He raised his finger and pointed at Michelle, his voice was shaky but deep and assertive. "What else have you kept from me, huh?"

Michelle was completely shocked. She had no idea what he was talking about and couldn't believe how angry he looked. Charlie stood up and said his name in a way that tried to warn his son to calm down. Tony ignored him.

"I asked you...what else have you kept from me?"

"I don't know what you are talking about Tony. I haven't kept anything from you."

He was shaking his head and his fists were clenched s tightly shut his knuckles were white. "I have just been sent transcripts of Sam's phone calls the last couple days. His version of events don't quite match up with yours."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It means, he says a hell of a lot more happened in that room than you have told me."

Tears streamed down her face. "And you just believe that over what I have said?"

Charlie stood up, Tony thought he was going to leave and turned to him. "No Dad, don't go anywhere...I need you to figure out what the hell is going on and if Michelle needs more treatment then..."

Charlie raised his voice at Tony. "What are you saying Tony? You need to stop and calm down for a second."

"You want me to calm down? Why don't you read this..." He threw some paper at Charlie. "And then tell me if that was mom if you would calm down?"

Charlie was stunned. Tony had never spoken to him that way. He picked up the papers from the ground whilst watching Michelle who looked devastated. She tried to reach forward and grab the papers but he held them back. "What does it say?" She looked up at Tony, "What the hell does it say?"

He started pacing the room. "Are you sure you don't already know?"

"Why are you speaking to me like this?"

Tony was so confused and angry he couldn't stop himself. He had just read the most disturbing document of his life and if it was true...if any of it was true he had no idea how the hell he would deal with it. In his whole time at CTU he had never seen or even heard of a case of such horrific sexual and violent abuse and to think it was written about his Michelle made him feel sick to his stomach. It was hard to breathe.

"I need to know...what happened in that room?"

"I've told you what happened! What does that say?"

As Charlie read the transcript from 3 conversations between Sam and a friend he thought he was going to vomit. The language and things that were said were almost unbelievable they were so horrific. He couldn't help but swear. He felt Michelle reach for the paper in his hands and he jumped back to the side taking them completely out of her reach. "No. You are not reading this."

"What? Why not?"

Charlie looked at Tony. "Michelle does NOT need to read this Tony. I'm warning you."

"I want you to check Michelle. Find out if this is true."

Charlie looked at his son and tears ran down his cheeks. "I can't do that Tony, you know I can't. Even if this was true you know there are not answers to find!"

Michelle yelled at them both. "I'm in the fucking room, you know. Don't talk about me as if I am not here. Tony, where did that come from?"

"CTU. They have been monitoring his calls."

Michelle's body slumped back onto the bed. "You telling me everyone at work have read that shit?"

"No, I've kept the entire case to a need to know basis only." He was studying her so hard, almost demanding the answers to appear across her forehead or something.

"I want to read that document. If you have both read it, I sure as hell am allowed to read it."

Tony was torn. On one hand he knew it would destroy Michelle like it had him, to read what was on the transcript. If it was all bullshit then it would do nothing but hurt her and make everything worse. On the other hand, if there was the slightest bit of truth to any of it, he needed her to tell him. He needed to know what she had been through so he could help her. He needed her to know she could tell him anything and it wouldn't change how much he loved her. All he wanted was for her to be ok.

"Michelle, I love you so much, I love you more than anything in this world. But I can't help you...Dad can't help you if we don't really understand what happened to you. I don't want you trying to protect me from anything. I can handle it..."

"Sure you could. Look at you Tony! You look like you are going to explode..."

He slammed his hand against the wall. "That's not fair Michelle. I am scared to death right now. If you had just read that about me, you would be reacting the same way."

"Well how am I supposed to know when I don't even know what you are talking about?"

Charlie folded the paper and put in his pocket. He looked at Tony. "Sit down."

Tony stood there.

"Sit down!"

As pissed as he was and not one to ever really take orders from anyone, when his Dad spoke to him in that tone it was pretty hard for Tony not to do as he was told. He sat on the edge of the bed. Charlie turned to Michelle. "Ok, we all need to settle down for a minute. Chelle can you walk us through what happened again?"

"WHAT? NO! I've already been through this. I have already told you and I shouldn't have to say it again. If you are going to choose to believe that asshole over me, then that is your choice." She could feel the injection really kicking in now and it made her angry that once again when she wanted her wits about her, she felt knocked about by the medication.

"Chelle..."

"NO! Stop it, this isn't fair. I've just had an injection and...god, please just tell me what is going on? Why can't I read that?"

Tony took a deep breath. "Because baby it is disgusting and I don't want you having to see something like that. I need you to trust me on that..."

"What just like you trust me?"

"I do trust you!"

"Then why are you even questioning any of this?" Michelle had wanted to walk out the room the moment this had all started and it was taking everything she had not to. She had sat there fighting the urge but it was becoming too strong and so she started to get out from under the covers.

Charlie walked beside her on the bed and simply had to use one hand to hold her down so she couldn't move. Tony was still pacing the room, muttering and swearing under his breath. Charlie almost didn't know who to attend to first. He was worried about how worked up Tony was. Charlie was still mortified by what he had read. He had never in his life heard anything like that before. Now, looking at Michelle he prayed like he never had before that it was all crap because the thought of any of that happening to her was too much to bare. It did cross his mind that if that had happened to Michelle it would be highly likely she wouldn't say it. He could see that Tony was struggling beyond belief, he didn't want to make Michelle feel like he didn't believe her but he could tell that Tony wasn't ready to drop it and wanted to ask more questions. His brain went into overdrive as he tried to figure out how to handle the situation. He could see Michelle's eyes opening and closing and knew she was trying to fight off the medication.

He made Tony come and sit back down again. Again Tony challenged him and he had to yell at him to do as he was told. "Tony, I am going to give you something to help you calm down."

"You have to be kidding me. We need to sort this out."

"Well you're not going to get anywhere in the state you are in."

Tony stood up again. "What the hell state do you expect me to be in Dad? You read the transcript. If any of that is true...just imagine for a second that was mom you were reading about."

Charlie's voice was raised. "I don't fucking need to imagine that it was mom I was reading about, it is bad enough that it is Michelle."

They stood staring at each other for a few moments. "Look son, you agreed that you and Michelle would listen to me and do what I needed you to do if I released Michelle out into my care. I need you to listen to me right now."

Tony tried to calm his breathing down a little bit but it was close to impossible. He looked at Michelle who was sitting with her head in her hands, unable to look at either of them. She looked so small and vulnerable and the words in the transcript began to play over and over in his mind again. He thought about how hard they had had to push Michelle just to get her to see Joanne and it made him realise how strong Michelle actually was and how much she could keep inside. He threw his hands up in the air, "Dad, I can control myself. If you give me something then I won't be able to figure this out..."

Michelle was really quite out of it by this point but still aware of what was going on. She was so angry that they wouldn't let her read the transcript. She cut Tony off, "What is there to figure out Tony? If I have to take the stuff then why shouldn't you? It's not fair that I have to feel so out of it and try and keep up with what's going on..."

"I'll tell you why Chelle, because I know you better than you think I do and I can tell that some of this is true..."

"What?"

Even Charlie stopped and looked at Tony surprised, "What do you mean?"

"From the moment we were in that holding cell together you have done everything you can to prove to me how strong you are. You don't want to upset me and my family and you don't want to worry us and so you do everything you can to get through this only revealing what you have to. It is only when you get pushed over the edge or are given drugs to drop your guard that you really open up. I can tell though just by your reaction and the look in your eyes when I came in with this that there is more to all of this than you are letting on."

Michelle sat there stumped. Tony managed to blow her away over and over with his ability to read her. She loved it about him, she expected it to a degree considering how good he was at his job but she hadn't expected him to say all that and now he had left her speechless. All she could come up with was a defensive remark back, "If you can read me so well, then you would know to leave it alone Tony..."

Charlie jerked his head back in surprise. Michelle, maybe without realising it had just given away that there was more to all this then she had told them. He looked over at Tony who didn't look surprised in the slightest. Charlie had to give his son credit, even when he was on the verge of losing it he was so distressed, the agent in him shined through...or maybe that was his love for Michelle and how in tune with her he really was, either way, Tony had just made some headway.

It was obvious Michelle didn't realise how much she had given away. Charlie put his hand up to Tony to give him the signal to not say anything, and then he sat next to Michelle. "Why should Tony know to leave it alone Chelle?"

She looked up at them both and it clicked what had just happened. She felt like she could die inside. She had no idea what to say. Both men kept their eyes trained on her, waiting to see how she would respond or what she would do next. She knew what they were doing and it felt unfair that she was in a position of trying to keep her guard up at the same time as trying to fight off the drugs. "This is completely unfair. You've got me high as a kite and it feels like I am getting tricked into saying stuff."

Tony sat on the edge of the bed. "We are not trying to trick you sweetheart, we are trying to help you. If we don't know everything then we can't give you all the help you need."

"But I was doing fine..."

Charlie sighed, "Chelle, can you remember the conversation we were having just before Tony came into the room? All of those questions you asked me, all of those worries you had...we can help you through all that. You are not fine. Tony's not fine, I am not fine. All of us are just hanging on here at the moment..."

"So if you are just hanging on, why the hell would I say anything more to make anything worse?"

Tony shook his head. "Stop worrying about upsetting us or making things worse. Just for once would you worry about YOU! How do you ever expect to get through this baby if you don't put yourself first?"

Michelle's eyes were opening and closing again and she almost fell back down onto her back onto the bed. Tony could tell he was getting close with her. He pushed again. "Look me in the eye Chelle and tell me that everything I might have read in that transcript is false. That you have told me absolutely everything. Including how he spoke to you and what he said."

"Tony..."

"No, I mean it, if you love me you will do this and you will tell the truth."

She couldn't look at him.

"I'll take that as the answer then, I know you won't lie to me and if you can't look at me then I am right."

They could both hear her mutter under her breath, 'fucking hell'. They both wanted to be sick knowing that Michelle had been through even worse than they had realised. How the hell had she even gotten this far?

Michelle leant over and picked up the phone beside the bed. Tony and Charlie were confused, "What are you doing Chelle?"

"I'm calling Ryan. He will have to tell me what is written in that transcript, he has no choice..."

Tony's voice was raised, "What so you know how much to tell again or not?" He rounded the bed and pulled the phone out of the wall. He was fuming beyond belief. He understood how she must be feeling, if anything written in that transcript was true he would be amazed at how she had gotten through any of this at all. The way he may have spoken to her, the things he said and the way he spoke would be enough to haunt anybody for the rest of their lives. Admitting it and facing it to anybody would be one of the hardest things Michelle might ever have to face but he knew so well that if she didn't deal with it then she would never be able to get past it. And if he and his Dad didn't completely understand what she had been through they wouldn't be able to offer her the correct support she needed. She looked stunned that he had pulled the phone out of the wall. He could see she was trying to figure out what to do next.

He tried to soften his tone but it still came across as full of anger, "Baby, whatever it was that happened, whatever it was that he said to you, we can handle together. Can't you see how much we love you? How much we want to help you get through this? And don't you want Sam prosecuted to the absolute maximum he can get?"

"He will already get jail time Tony, none of this will change that."

Tony's phone rang again, it was Chappelle. He told them he had to answer it. He stepped out of the room leaving Michelle and Charlie alone. He sat on the edge of the bed and tried to use a calm voice. "What are you so scared of Chelle? We have already read it now. What has got you the most worried about all this?"

"Charlie look at how you guys are acting...look at Tony, he looks like he could literally kill Sam. I've never seen him so angry. He is barely coping with what has happened so far, as if I want to make it worse."

"But you guys are about to have a baby together, getting married and start a whole new life together. Can't you understand why Tony feels like he needs to understand everything you have been through? If the situation was reversed, wouldn't you want to know exactly what Tony had been through?"

He had her there. Of course she would.

"Chelle, I know you are feeling really insure about so many things. About how Tony feels about you. Before he came into the room before you told me that you were worried he couldn't see past the bruises and that he was turned off...is this what is making you so scared right now?"

"Of course it is Charlie! I know he loves me, I know he would do anything for me but...but..." This was so hard and embarrassing to be talking about.

He gentle urged her to continue.

"When Tony is kissing me, he is ok but as soon as he sees the bruises, especially the one on my chest, he just looses it. And that is just what he is seeing. I know he can't stop thinking about another man touching me so I can only imagine what he must be thinking. I don't want to make it all worse. I just want us to get back to normal life. Back to being happy and excited about our future, I don't want to keep taking steps backwards..."

She didn't have a chance to finish because Tony came storming back into the room. He was seething. His eyes were darting all over the place and he was holding the phone in his hand so hard his knuckles were white. He took a deep breath. "Seeing as Sam is starting to get better and they are going to have to organise where he will be taken to next, CTU took the case straight to the courts to make sure he was denied bail until the case can be presented. They think this is going to go to court, with a jury...the whole works. They want Sam behind bars for as long as possible, as we all do."

Michelle looked at him, trying to digest what all this meant. Having this presented in front of a jury would be her worst nightmare.

Tony stared at her. "You know if this goes that far...and it will, all of this will come out anyway. Those transcripts will be used against him and..."

"I'm not getting up and testifying." She turned to Charlie, "You can't tell me you would want Jess to have to go through getting up on a stand and facing Sam and reliving all of this?"

Charlie didn't know what to say. He hadn't even thought this far ahead. This whole thing was just getting worse by the minute.

Tony looked like he was on the verge of tears. "Baby, there might not be a choice in the matter. Either way though, all of this is going to come out. What if half of this transcript is just bullshit..."

Michelle had had enough, she had been completely pushed to her limit. There was no way out of this, other than to just tell them everything. "Alright, alright I'll talk."

Both men couldn't believe it. They sat on the bed, Tony went to sit next to her and pull her into his arms but she wouldn't let him, she was to too on edge and angry that this was happening. She could see he looked hurt but she didn't know what to do about it. She kept her head down and spoke quietly. She went back to start from when Sam had taken her into the room on her own. For the next 25 minutes she revealed in detail everything that she could remember that had been said and done in that room. The horrific way that Sam had spoken to her and the things he had called her and said to her were all true from what was in the transcript. Michelle almost said it word for word what was written in it even though she hadn't read it. It was the most vulgar, repulsive way a person could be spoken to. She had never lied to Tony or Charlie about anything that had happened, she had simply spared them the details of how hateful and horrible the experience had been. Both men cried as they listen to her speak and Tony continually tried to touch her or hold her but she wouldn't let them near her. Sam had been a lot rougher with her than she had made out and he had treated her as though she was scum. One of the hardest things for the men to hear was that all the things Michelle had kept to herself were because Sam had made Michelle believe that if she didn't go along with what he wanted and when he was done with her, this was exactly what he was going to do to Jess. He had compared the girls and Michelle knew these things that had been said were something no brother or father could ever bare to hear about their daughter. Michelle had been refusing the rape kit and examination because it would have been so clear as to how bad the assault had actually been.

Michelle hadn't looked up once the whole time she spoke and her voice seemed to just quieter and quieter. She repeatedly tried to assure Charlie that she had tried to do everything she could to protect Jess and make sure she didn't know what kind of monster Sam really was or what might have happened to her. The entire time she spoke her skin felt like it was crawling and she wanted nothing more than to shower and just disappear.

Tony was mortified. How someone could ever speak and do those things to Michelle was impossible to comprehend. The fact that he had made her feel like she was all of the things he had called her was even worse. The rage continued to build up inside of him as he listened until he got to the point that he lost control. He stood up and paced for a second, trying his hardest to calm down. He couldn't. Finally, speaking with his teeth clenched he asked Michelle if she believed the words Sam had spoken.

"Yes, most of them. I'm trying not to but I don't understand how or why he could even think to say those things if they weren't true."

Tony lost it, he kicked the wall he was standing next to as hard as he could. Then dumped the table upside down before turning and smashing his hand into the wall with so much force that it went straight through the plaster board. Charlie jumped up and had to throw his arms around his son's chest and pull him away from everything. The whole time Tony screamed at them that this was his fault, if he hadn't made Michelle sit in the car on her own none of this would have happened. Charlie was yelling at Tony to calm down, Michelle was stunned and Jess and Natalie burst into the room wondering what the hell was going on.

Once Charlie had Tony so tightly in his arms he could barely move, silence over took the room. All that could be heard was their stifled cries and deep breaths. Tony's hand was covered in blood and Charlie told Natalie to grab his case. Before Tony knew what was going on, Charlie gave him an injection to calm him down. Charlie's eyes were darting between Tony and Michelle, he was scared to death of what she would do.

When Tony looked at Michelle and through the heaviest of tears told her how sorry he was that he hadn't protected her, that he would never forgive himself and he didn't deserve her, she burst into tears. She tried to tell him that it was him that had saved her that she loved him more than anything in the world and he was the reason why she was getting through any of this. She looked at Charlie and Tony and yelled, "This is exactly why I never wanted to say a fucking word about any of this. Nothing good can ever come of this. Why the hell did you make me do this? Why did you force me? Why didn't you just trust me that I knew what was best?"

Natalie and Jess were crying in shock over what they were witnessing. They had no idea what they had missed but they had never seen any of them in this state before. Charlie got Tony onto the bed. Michelle looked at his hand which was covered in blood. She felt sick. He wouldn't take his eyes off her and all he could do was keep telling her how sorry he was. He loved her so much but he had failed her and because of his actions she had been through hell and he didn't understand how she could want anything to do with him.

"Because I love you more than anything in the world. You were trying to protect me Tony. You could never have known what was going to happen. You did everything you could to protect me. Even when you were being shot at you still didn't give up. I love you more than you will ever understand Tony."

His eyes were starting to close as the medication really kicked in. Within moments he was asleep and the rest of them were left in silence for a moment. Charlie started to check and treat Tony's hand straight away. He got icepacks on his foot, luckily he had used his good one to kick the wall. He had Natalie help him as he did everything. He asked Jess to leave the room and told her he would come and see her as soon as he could. Michelle stayed close to Tony the whole time, stroking his hair and whispering how much she loved him. Charlie was relieved that Tony had not broken his hand, it was just covered in scrapes and bruises-the wall looked a lot worse than Tony.

Natalie and Charlie left the room for a few minutes once he had Tony taken care of. He figured he would sleep now for a little while. Michelle was still next to his side. Once outside the door, he asked Natalie to call Joanne and have her come to the safe house immediately. Whether Michelle and Tony wanted to or not, they needed help to get through this and he was going to force them into it. He also needed help and guidance and so did Jess and Natalie.

When he re-entered the room he saw Tony still passed out and Michelle in the bathroom. The shower was running and she was curled up in a ball on the shower floor crying. She was fully clothed. He opened the door and knelt down, she hadn't even noticed him. "Chelle..."

She looked up at him with tear stained eyes. "Let me be Charlie. I told you everything you wanted to know and now look at what happened. You will ever look at me the same way, Tony won't. Everything is a mess." She reached for one of the hand towels.

He tried to grab it from her hand but she tucked it on the other side of her body away from him. "Don't do this Chelle. Please dear god, don't do this. Come out and talk to me..."

"Talk to you? What more could you possibly want to hear? You know everything. You've seen everything, what more do you want?"

"I want us to keep getting through this. As hard as all that was, it was a major step forward in the right direction. You will see that soon, I promise."

"Do you want me to leave Charlie? Would it be better if I just leave?"

"You are not going anywhere. Ever. Joanne is on her way and when Tony is awake we are all going to talk to her. We are going to get through this."

"I was getting through this, we were all getting there. We even laughed a bit before. Now we have just gone backwards. I don't understand." She pushed her sleeve up and went to start washing her skin.

Charlie knew by the fact that she wasn't even trying to hide what she so desperately wanted to do that this was bad. He hated seeing the pain in her eyes, the look of being so completely lost and not knowing what to do was just soul destroying. He reached in and tried to grab the towel again but she wouldn't let him. "I have no problem in coming in there and taking that from you Michelle. I will not let you punish yourself anymore. It is over. From now on we all have to find a way of moving forward and feeling better. I will not let you keep feeling..."

"That's where you are wrong Charlie. You don't get it. This makes me feel better. I don't care if that is wrong anymore. My skin is crawling. I have to make it stop and I don't know any other way..." She looked at him and yelled, "I don't care anymore!"

He didn't know what else to do other than step inside the shower and pick her body up. She barley struggled but he had to forcefully make her drop the towel. He turned the tap off. She was shaking and crying and it was breaking his heart. "I need to get you out of here and into some warm dry clothes Chelle."

They stood there for a moment staring at each other. Suddenly Michelle leaned into him, "I'm so sorry. I am sorry I was so weak. I am sorry at what I am putting you through, I am sorry for what your whole family is going through."

He hugged her as tightly as he could. "Don't you dare say you are sorry. I am so sorry for everything you are going through. I can't believe what you have been through. I have no idea how you are getting through this at all. You are amazing Chelle, absolutely amazing."

She pushed her face into his chest. "Please help me Charlie, I can't handle this anymore. Please, please help me."

He pulled her back a little so he could see her face. He could see blood seeping through her wet clothes. He didn't think the stitches had come out or anything but she didn't have the cover on her wound and the heat of the water mixed with her top stuck to it was making it bleed. He whispered, "I will, I will."

The door opened and Tony walked in. His eyes looked hazy. "What's happening?"

Tony was relieved Tony was up. He was going to need his help in getting Michelle changed and checked out. "How are you feeling Tony? I need your help?"

Tony shook his head a little and stepped in next to them putting his arms around Michelle from behind. "I'm ok." He nuzzled his face into her neck. "I love you, I am so sorry I lost it."

"That's why I didn't want to tell you. I hate seeing you like that Tony."

He kept her close, "I had to know sweetheart. I just don't know how to get my head around what you have been through. I'd do anything to take it all away."

Charlie asked Tony to get Michelle into some dry clothes whilst he went to check on the girls. Tony got Michelle changed back into some dry clothes and they both slowly made their way back over to the bed. They were both physically and emotionally drained. They lay next to each other. Michelle took Tony's injured hand in hers and tears made their way down her cheeks. He kissed her, "Hey, hey, I'll be fine. We need to talk baby. Now that I understand everything, I really need to..."

Michelle pushed her head into his chest. "Can't you just hold me for a few minutes? I just need to be close to you."

He wrapped his arms around her tighter. "I love you and I never want to let you go."

Within minutes they had both drifted off to sleep. When Charlie stuck his head in the door and saw them wrapped up in each other arms like that he sighed in relief. No matter how big the blow out, no matter how bad things seemed to get, they always ended up back like this and that's how he knew they would make it. They were so perfect for each other, so in love, they would be ok. He closed the door and decided to let them sleep whilst Natalie, Jess and himself spoke with Joanne first.

**Please if you are reading this take the time to review and let me know. No point posting on here if no one is reading this. Thanks for taking the time to read and I hope you like it. Thanks:)**


	21. Chapter 21

**Sorry it has been so long. I was going to not finish this story beacuse I wasn't sure if anyone was still reading it or not but I got a few mails sent to me asking to continue so I thought I would give it a go. I am working on getting them back to a happy place but it needs to be done right. Hopefully everything the characters are going through shows how strong the bond is between Michelle and Tony for the years to come.**

**I hope you like this, it is so hard to write. Please for adults only and of course I don't own 24 etc...**

Jess had locked herself in her bedroom for the last hour whilst Charlie and Natalie spoke with Joanne. Charlie was happy to give her some space and he needed a chance for himself and Natalie to talk to Joanne and try and learn some ways to get their family through everything that was happening. Shortly though he planned on getting Jess out her to speak with her as well and then he would wake Tony and Michelle. As much as Michelle didn't want to speak to anyone anymore about everything he knew he had to make her. There was no way she could go through all this without getting some proper help. He knew it was going to be a fight but he was prepared to put his foot down and demand that this was part of her being treated under his care at home.

He was about to go and get Jess when he heard her swearing and yelling on the phone. She was in an out-right fight with someone and was hurling abuse left right and centre. As he made his way to the door he heard her ask the person on the phone repeatedly 'how could you do that? how could you have been so stupid?'. He wondered what the hell was going on. He knocked on the door as he pushed it open.

Jess dropped the phone at the sight of her Dad and then picked it up and snapped it shut. They stared at each other for a moment. "You didn't even say goodbye..."

She kept her head down, he could see how deeply she was breathing and her fists were clenched tight. "I've messed up Dad."

"What do you mean?"

She shook her head over and over. Fear was written all across her face and Charlie knew this was serious, whatever it was. He pushed her again, "It's ok Jess, you can talk to me. We can fix what ever has happened but I can't help you if I don't know what is wrong?"

She sighed. "You said that I could have my friend Kate visit right?"

"Yeah..." His heart started to race as his mind already knew this was heading in a bad direction.

"I am so sorry Dad. I didn't think it through. I didn't think...I thought our friends would be on my side..."

"What do you mean by 'our friends'?"

Her head was still concentrated on the floor. "Sam and me. We have a pile of mutual friends Dad...we did date for awhile."

Charlie sat on the end of the bed. It hit him like a ton of bricks as he thought about all the people and connections Sam had to Jess and his family. "What's going on Jess? Who were you fighting with and what are you so worried about?"

"Kate has spoken to a few of our friends. Telling them what has happened...what Sam did and why I have basically been out of contact..."

Charlie could feel the frustration setting in. "Yes but Kate doesn't know where we are or anything like that right?"

Jess burst into tears. "Kind of...not exactly..."

"What the hell does that mean Jess? Either she does or she doesn't..."

"You said she could come and see me..."

"I also said it would be arranged that she would be picked up and bought here, that you were not to tell anyone where we are."

"I didn't tell her exactly, I don't even know the bloody address of where we are but...but...she knows the area we are in, she knows enough Dad for someone to figure it out..."

"Who is going to figure it out? Just be straight with me Jess, no games, I need to know what I am dealing with."

Jess turned her head away from her Dad, not wanting to see the look in his eyes. "Dad, I got into a massive fight with Kate. I found out she had told a pile of our friends what had happened even though I told her I didn't want anyone else to know but she did. Now some of those friends have been in contact with Sam's friends. I have no idea who knows what..."

Charlie couldn't believe what he was hearing. Had everything just been undone? Where they now another open target to Sam? His blood was boiling.

Jess started to wail. "I thought I could trust her, she is my best friend! I needed to talk to someone. I needed to talk to my best friend about what is happening. I just can't believe she couldn't keep her mouth shut. I told her how important it was she not breathe a word and yet it feels like the whole thing has turned into some major gossip session for everyone. I hate them..."

Charlie tried to keep his temper under control. He reminded himself over and over how young Jess was, how traumatic all this was on her and how understandable it was that she had spoken to her best friend about everything. That was normal. He could get that but now he knew they were probably completely exposed. He walked over and hugged Jess. "It is going to be ok. I am going to need you to come out and talk to Tony and I and tell us everything you have told Kate so we know what we are dealing with..."

"I am so sorry Dad, I was so stupid...I just thought I was talking to my best friend."

"Jess, it will be ok. Your friends will never understand how complex and dangerous this situation is. Especially those that have been friends with Sam would have trouble even believing what he has done. I am not surprised your group of friends is going crazy over this information...however we need to get it under control..."

"How could she do this to me? I am so humiliated. I never want to see anyone again."

Charlie hugged her tighter, "I'm sorry sweetheart. She clearly hasn't taken it seriously. You just never know how people are going to react to situations."

"Tony and Michelle are going to hate me...I can't believe..."

"Don't say that Jess. They love you and they will understand." He took her hand and started to lead her out of the bedroom. "Come on, let's get this started with."

* * *

Charlie opened the door to Tony and Michelle's room and as he asked them both to come out to the lounge of they could, one of their agents Johnson also appeared at the door saying that he had Michelle's brother Danny on the phone for her. She said she would take the call and then join them in a few minutes.

Tony kissed her on the forehead and told her to call for him when she was ready and he would come and help her out. She nodded her head and kissed him back.

* * *

Jess sat in silence as Charlie explained the situation to Tony. He could see Tony was furious but like him was trying to keep his temper under control for Jess's sake. He couldn't blame her for wanting to talk to her friend about what she was going through and it wasn't her fault her friend couldn't keep her mouth shut. Once Charlie said everything they knew, they both asked Jess to tell them everything she could remember telling Kate about where they were and what was happening.

Johnson barged through the door, not even bothering to knock. "Tony, I have Ryan Chappelle on the line for you, it is urgent."

Tony grabbed the phone. "Ryan?"

"Tony are you with Michelle?"

"No...why? What's wrong?"

"The man that Sam was speaking to in those transcripts has contacted the office. He had just spoken with Sam and he has said that Sam has completely lost the plot since hearing about Ashley and is scared to death of going to jail. He ranted to this man, Levi, about all the different ideas he had for 'silencing Michelle and Jess so they couldn't testify so he wouldn't have to go to jail. Levi doesn't want Sam to ever know that he contacted us but he also wanted to warn us that he thinks Sam is willing to do anything to get out of this situation...he seems very disturbed by the things that Sam had said to him..."

Tony sighed. "Like what? What do you mean?"

"I've taken a statement from him that I could send over but I don't really think Michelle or any of you for that matter really needs to read it, there is no need to upset everyone even more, however I do think we need to ramp up security around you and..."

Tony interrupted him and explained what had just happened with Jess and her friend. After going through the whole situation a couple of times Ryan informed Tony that he would be over soon with a team and that he felt it was best that they moved the family again to another secure location. Tony agreed and told him that he would get everyone ready.

Charlie had been sitting next to Charlie listening the whole time. About half way through the conversation he had sent Jess off with Natalie to another room. He didn't want her hearing everything and getting more panicked than she already was. Once he hung up the phone he turned to his Dad and sighed. They both just stared at each other for a few moments before Tony broke the silence. "I can't believe we have to move again. There is only so much of this that Chelle can handle...and Jess and Mom."

"I know but nothing is more important than keeping the girls safe. If there is even just the slightest chance Sam has a way of figuring out where we are or anything then we just have to move – no more chances."

"Do you think Chelle is up for this?"

Charlie scrunched his face as he thought about it. "I can give her medication to help with the moving around, I just want to keep a close eye on her blood pressure because that has been jumping all over the place when she is upset..."

He didn't have a chance to finish before Tony's phone went, it was Ryan again.

Tony could hear Ryan sigh before he even started speaking. "What's wrong Ryan?"

"You know we are monitoring all the calls coming in and out and I've just heard what Michelle's brother Danny has said to Michelle..."

"What?"

"Tony, I know from the scene Danny caused in the office that night that he is a little off the rails but do you know much about his relationship with Michelle?"

"A bit yeah...why?" Tony didn't like the sound of this. "What's going on?"

"He has just abused the absolute hell out of Michelle. It is hard to understand what he is saying half the time but it sounds like his wife, or ex-wife has received some threats which we need to follow up on..."

"Threats from who?"

"Someone looking for Michelle, obviously it wasn't Sam but clearly someone helping Sam..."

"You have a trace on Danny's phone right to hear what calls he has received?"

"Yeah and I have Chloe on that now but from what I understand the ex-wife has received the calls and then called Danny and gone nuts at him that his sister is putting their children in a dangerous position. So Danny has just gone off his rocket and Michelle..."

"Oh My God..."

"Sorry to say it Tony but the guy is an arsehole. The way he just spoke to his sister...after everything Michelle has been through, it was disgusting. He blamed her for everything and told her she deserved everything she got...he sounded drunk and I have no idea how much of the story you guys have told him but he just blasted Michelle like I have never heard before..."

"That fucking prick. I need to go Ryan and see how she is..."

"She won't be good...I'm going to put a ban on letting Danny call through to Michelle for awhile until you guys work this thing through. If he calls again, I'll let you know and you can decide what you want to do."

"Thanks Ryan."

Tony slammed the phone shut. He dropped his head as he explained to Charlie what Ryan had just told him. Charlie didn't know much about Danny so Tony had to explain as much as he knew. The whole time he was speaking he was also trying to figure out the best way to handle the situation.

Charlie felt sick. "Dammit, I hate to think how this is going to affect Michelle and how she is already feeling about herself."

"Exactly! Her own fucking brother blaming her and telling her it is her fault and she deserves what she happened...I want to kick the day light out of him."

Charlie could see Tony's fist clenching and his whole body puffing up and he could see how enraged he was. He tried to calm him down a little bit before they went into Michelle. He made him take some deep breaths but Tony was impatient and didn't want to wait any longer to see Michelle. As they made their way down the hall to the room, they passed Jess who had just come out of the room.

"I told Michelle what happened with my friends..."

"What? Jess...

"I'm sorry but this was my fault and I should have to help...besides, I needed Chelle to really understand and hear it from me that I didn't mean to cause more trouble or problems."

Charlie hugged Jess. He was proud that his daughter was trying to take responsibility for her actions but he felt bad that she even had to feel this way in the first place. She shouldn't have to feel guilty for talking to her best friend about what she had been through. "I love you Jess. How did Chelle seem?"

"Distracted. She barely reacted at all to what I told her. I couldn't tell if she was so pissed at me she could barely speak or if she was scared and was trying not to show it. I told her how sorry I was but she kept just telling me she understood and it would be ok." Jess looked at them both. "She's not herself. I mean I know she's not at the moment anyway with everything that is happening but something seemed different."

"It is alright Jess, we will check on her. Why don't you go back and chat to Joanne again for a little bit, she is with your mother and then you will need to start getting your things together because it looks like we are going to move to another place."

Jess just nodded her head and went back down the hall. Charlie turned to Tony. "Before all this, I wanted you and Michelle to talk to Joanne, now even more than ever I want Michelle to."

Tony nodded his head but Charlie could tell it was going to be hard to even get Tony to open up and talk to Joanne, never mind Michelle. His heart felt heavy as he thought about everything. They pushed the door open to find Michelle out of the bed throwing clothes into her bag. She had her back to them and was using one hand on the counter to steady herself. She was so lost in thought she didn't even hear them come into the door.

Tony walked straight up to her and slid his arm across her shoulder. "Sweetheart..."

She turned and looked up at him, her eyes were watery. She gave them both a quick glance and then went straight back to packing. "We need to go..."

Tony used his hands to stop her. "We will, we are organizing to move now baby but I don't want you packing, I can take care of it. Come hop back on the bed and rest with me."

Charlie watched as her eyes darted all over the place trying to figure out what to do. Jess was right; Michelle seemed completely out of whack. Before she had time to come up with another answer he told her he needed to check her blood pressure and give her another shot.

Michelle half nodded her head and then sat on the end of the bed. Tony sat next to her with his arm around her and Charlie got everything out. Tony watched Michelle, waiting for her to tell him about Danny. He so desperately wanted her to tell him, to lean on him but she didn't. She looked like she had no intention on saying anything at this point. Was she trying to be strong? Did she feel like she couldn't tell him? He knew that she must be absolutely heartbroken and that thought made him feel sick to his stomach. She stared at the floor for awhile before finally speaking with a very flat voice, "Where are we going now?"

"I'm not sure yet sweetheart. Ryan is working up a couple options for us now. He is on his way over shortly."

She nodded her head and then turned her attention to Charlie. "Can I take a shower? I really need one."

Charlie was in the middle of taking her blood pressure now. "It wasn't that long ago that you were under the water before Chelle..."

"Yeah but I didn't get to wash my hair or anything. Please Charlie?"

He did her blood pressure again, not believing that it could actually be as high as the first reading was telling him. "Joanne is here waiting to speak to you and Tony, maybe after that?"

She shook her head. "I'm not talking to Joanne...or anyone."

"You have to Chelle. As part of my treating you, I need you and Tony to talk to her. After what happened before...after everything, you need to speak to someone."

"What more could you possibly want me to say? I've already said more than I ever wanted to and you can't seriously expect me to have to repeat all that?"

"Chelle..."

"Seriously Charlie, do you really expect me to have to repeat all that?"

"You don't have to talk o Joanne about details, it's not like that. I just want you to talk to her about how you are feeling." He stopped when he got the 2nd reading. Her blood pressure was through the roof. "Holy shit."

Tony lifted his head. "What?"

"Michelle your blood pressure is dangerously high." He looked at Tony, "I need to have someone get some medication from the hospital for me."

Tony stood up. "Ok, write down what you need and I'll give it to Johnson to organize."

"Ok, but I need it immediately." He scribbled down what he needed and handed it to Tony. Tony ran out the door to give it to Johnson. Charlie stood and stared at Michelle for a moment. Now he was unsure of what to do. Her blood pressure was so high he couldn't afford to upset her anymore than she already was and risk it getting worse. On the other hand, he knew that if she kept going the way she was, keeping everything bottled up it would probably only get worse anyways. Michelle broke his train of thought.

"Charlie, I told you and Tony everything just before even though I never ever wanted to do that. I've done everything you have asked me to do. Please, just let me wash my hair and shower?"

Tony walked back in and closed the door behind him. "It will be here shortly. I'll help Chelle in the shower Dad if she can have one. Maybe it will help?"

Charlie sighed. "Alright but pain injection first. That means Tony you can't let go of Michelle the whole time, you know how strong these injections are and..."

"Thank you Charlie but I don't need an injection for pain."

Even Tony said, 'WHAT?' in disbelief at the same time as Charlie. It couldn't be more obvious how much pain she was in right now. She could barely move. Charlie tilted his head and looked at her. "What are you talking about? You are pale Chelle, you can barely move and your blood pressure is dangerously high, you need an injection for pain."

She shook her head. "I can't have one right now."

"Why not?"

"I just can't."

They all stood there in a standoff for a moment whilst they men tried to figure out what was going on.

"No shower then Chelle..." He felt terrible as soon as he said it, it felt like he was talking to her as though she was a child but he was completely confused.

"What? You are not going to let me shower just because I don't want the medication?"

Tony put his arm around her. "Why can't you have the shot baby?"

"Because they make me feel funny and I don't have control over what I say or do..." She stopped herself from saying anymore.

That was enough for both Charlie and Tony to figure out what was going on. She was scared if she had the injection she would let her guard down and tell them what had happened with Danny. Tony tried to keep his voice very gentle. "Baby, it is just us. It doesn't matter what you say. All that matters is that you feel better. You have had plenty of them."

Her body began to sway she was so unsteady. Suddenly she raised her voice at both of them. "You can't force me! I can shower if I want to shower and if I don't want to talk to Joanne then I don't have to. I am over all of it. I can make decisions for myself too you know!"

The fact that she had become so defensive gave away everything. Tony didn't mean to but it just slipped from his mouth. He could feel himself getting so flustered and worked up. "We already know about what Danny said..."

Michelle took a step back from them both, "You what?"

Tony shook his head in disappointment in himself for blurting it out like that. He tried to soften his voice again. "Baby, they are monitoring all the calls going in and out..."

"But that was a private call between me and my brother, CTU...NO ONE had any right to listen into that call!"

"They are listening to every call at the moment..."

Michelle snapped. "So you listen to that call but not the calls Jess has been making to her friends!""

Charlie felt terrible. He could see how worked up she was getting and he was really worried about her blood pressure. He had to give her the injection.

"Chelle, they are listening to Jess's calls as well. It was the calls between her friend Kate the other friends that is the problem. And Jess came to us as soon as she realized what it all meant, if she hadn't then CTU you would have been coming to us as soon as they had heard the call anyway."

The tension in the room became so thick you could cut it with a knife. Just like that, they had all come into a stand-off. Emotions were high and clearly a lot was a stake. Charlie and Tony didn't miss the anger in Michelle's voice when she made the comment about Jess. Obviously she felt angry and betrayed by the information being leaked.

Charlie was edging himself closer to Michelle. He had an injection ready to give to her. He tried to keep his voice calm. "Jess didn't mean to do the wrong thing Chelle. She thought she was confiding in her best friend over what she had just been through. She is devastated right now and has just had a huge fight with her friend over what has happened. The last thing I want is for you to feel betrayed by Jess or us..."

Michelle dropped her head and turned away from them back to her bag. "I don't. I understand this isn't Jess's fault. It's just...it's just...nobody had a right to listen into that phone call."

Tony couldn't help it. His voice boomed through the room. "NO...Danny had no fucking right to speak to you the way he did. He is a fucking..."

"He had every right Tony. God, he is worried about his children, my niece and nephew! Because of me they are all scared..."

"Scared? You think Danny and his ex-wife feeling a little bit 'scared' right now even comes fucking close to what you have been through? What you are dealing with? And NONE of that is the point, I'll fucking kill him for laying blame on you and for what he said..."

Michelle burst into tears. She had no idea what to do. She had been struggling so much with trying to believe Tony and Charlie when they tried to convince her none of this was her fault but her brother had taken that all away when he had directly told her she deserved everything she got. He had been so drunk it was hard to understand a lot of what he had said but nothing had been more clear then how angry he was with her. That his ex-wife was upset with him because she had received a threatening phone call from someone trying to find Michelle and now she was scared and had taken that out on Danny. Danny had told Michelle that she had just screwed up any chance he might of had to get back together with his wife and in her state she had believed every word he said and taken it to heart. I felt like every where she looked she was failing people, upsetting people and she just couldn't handle it anymore.

"He was right to say what he said..." She could barely get the words out.

Charlie was edging closer to her. "See Chelle, this is why I need you to talk to Joanne. She can help with all of this."

"I've got nothing more to say. Every time I open my mouth things just get worse." She lost her balance and stumbled to the side. When she couldn't catch herself on anything straight away she fell to the ground.

Charlie just missed catching Michelle by an inch. She looked so shocked and didn't move. He knelt down beside her asking if she was ok. She couldn't do this anymore. She just didn't have the strength. She looked at them both and yelled at them. "I can't do this anymore. You both don't understand...you don't get it..."

As she was yelling at them, Charlie took the injection and gave it to her in her thigh, through her clothes. He had no choice and he felt sick to his stomach as she looked at him when she realised what he had done as though he had just betrayed her. He told her he was sorry but he knew she wasn't hearing it.

There was silence for a moment as she sat stunned that she had been given the injection and now felt defeated. Tony tried to pull her body into his on the floor but she was resisting. "What don't we understand baby? Tell me, what don't I understand? What do I need to do?"

Michelle pulled out of his grip and got herself up and to the other side of the room whilst she still could. "You don't understand that this isn't over. Sam isn't going to stop until he gets what he wants. He's won! Do you get that? He has won!" She started making her way to the bathroom as she yelled at them...

Charlie ran in front of Michelle and Tony stayed behind her. Charlie was yelling now as well. "How has he won Chelle? You and Jess are safe and he will never be able to touch you again."

"Because I give up! I can't keep fighting him. He won't stop because he can't handle the thought of going to jail and it is never going to end. I don't know how to deal with all of this and I am so tired and sick of watching everyone I love in so much pain." She walked straight into Charlie trying to push him out of her way so she could get into the bathroom. He held her as she struggled.

"STOP! Just fucking stop! Everyone just stop!" They all turned to see Jess standing in the doorway screaming at them. Her voice had shocked them all into stopping and staring at her,

Charlie didn't know what to do. He wanted to go to Jess but he wanted to stay holding Michelle, not letting her lock herself in the bathroom. Tony put his arms up. "OK, OK...sorry Jess we..."

"No, look at you all. Look at what this is doing to everyone. All because of ex boyfriend and because I couldn't keep my mouth shut..."

Charlie's voice was choked with tears, "This is not your fault Jess..."

Natalie was trying to hold Jess but she was pulling out of her mom's grasp. "Stop saying that when you know damn well it is my fault. I'm not kid, you can't trick me into believe this situation is something it isn't. Even now, we have to move again because I screwed up and said too much to my friend, I am the one that is...that is..." Her words were high pitched and you could barely understand what she said as she became more and more hysterical. "Look at what this has done to everyone. Because I was too scared, Michelle got raped and beaten to a pulp by Sam...do you all get that? Look at the hell you are going through Chelle because you protected me. You are scared to death, you are in so much pain and you feel like you are alone in this because none of us can get our heads around what happened to you. And you Tony...you keep trying to make me feel like none of this is my fault and you are trying to be so strong to get Chelle through this but you are scared to death as well. And you are so angry. Your blood is boiling at the thought of what someone has done to the woman you are so deeply in love with and it is like you are just waiting for Michelle to give up and leave." She turned and stared at her Dad, "And Dad, it is killing you trying to get us all through this. I'd never seen you cry or swear before and the last week I've never seen you so sad it just kills me. You want to fix all this and take it all away from us but you can't and you don't know how to handle that. I can't bare the look of pain in mom's eyes anymore when she looks at us all...pain that not one of us knows how to make go away. And the only fucking reason there is pain is because of me. Michelle, you should never have done what you did to protect me. You are the most amazing person I know and I still can't believe someone would ever go through what you did for me but it wasn't worth it."

Charlie's heart was breaking as he listened to his daughter screaming at them all hysterically. Everybody was silent as they listened to her. Even Joanne had come from the other end of the house by now and was standing in the door way. He was surprised when it was Michelle that spoke up first. "It wasn't your fault Jess and how can you ever say that it wasn't worth it? How dare you say that?"

"Because it's true. You shouldn't have done what you did. If you had just let Sam take me, this whole situation would be so different. I could have handled being with him again and he wouldn't have hurt me the way he did you. YOU did the wrong thing...you shouldn't have done what you did!"

Tony was yelling at Jess now, telling her to shut up. Joanne and Natalie were trying to get her to calm down, the room was hysterical and then it was all broken by the quiet sound of Michelle's broken voice. "That's what you really think? All this...and..." She took a deep breath, "that's what you really think?" She didn't wait for an answer, she pushed past Charlie into the bathroom.

It felt like the world was closing in on Michelle. She stared at the shower. She was so tempted to lock the door and try to have a shower, she would do anything for a shower but she knew that all that would do is upset everyone even more and she would barely get in before they all burst in and pulled her out. So she stood in the bathroom listening to the commotion of everything in the next room. There had been silence for a few moments after she had spoken and then it was like everybody spoke at once. Tony was yelling and so was Jess. Michelle wasn't sure how it happened but after a little while she could tell that Jess had been taken to a different room by Joanne and Natalie. She could tell that Tony was crying, not just crying but actually sobbing and Charlie was comforting him. She wanted to go to him and hold him but it was like she couldn't move. Her body wouldn't allow it. She played Jess's words over and over in her head but she still came to the same conclusion, she didn't care what Jess thought, she was glad she had done what she had. She would never have been able to live with herself if she hadn't tried to protect Jess.

Tony appeared in the doorway. "I love you so much Chelle. I want to spend every minute of the rest of my life with you. You are so special to me. .."

She collapsed into his arms, "I love you more than anything in the world Tony. You are my everything."

"I'm so sorry."

Michelle stood back a little. "No don't be. Jess can hate me, she can believe whatever she wants but I know in my heart that I did what I had to do in that situation. I might think all of this is hard but if I had just stood back and done nothing, it would all be even harder right now."

Tony was smiling at her in an adoring way and shaking his head. "Jess doesn't hate you, she loves you more than you understand, and she just can't stand the pain. She feels guilty."

Charlie came and stood next to Tony. Michelle looked at them both. "Do you guys think I did the wrong thing?"

Charlie had tears running down his cheeks. "You can't ask that Chelle. There is no answer for that. I owe you everything for protecting my daughter but I can't measure that against what has happened to you."

Tony leaned down and kissed her. "You are the bravest person I know...and the strongest. Forget Danny, forget Jess, forget everything for a minute and just tell me...will you keep trying? For me? Even though you want to give up, even though you think you can't handle anymore, will you keep hanging in there for me? For our baby?"

When she looked at him, she didn't have to even think about that. "Of course I will. I promised you I wasn't going anywhere and I meant it. I need you Tony and I feel so terrified right now but I know without a doubt that all I want is you...me and you together."

He pulled her back into the kiss. She ran her hands up through his hair and down the side of his cheek. For a moment it felt like there was nothing in the world wrong. Somehow, this man always managed to bring her back to a good place. She could feel his hands running down her back to the top of her thighs and then back up again. He ran his lips to her neck and kissed her there and then all around her ear. As he did this she held him even tighter and whispered how much she loved him. Charlie stepped back and grabbed the door handle and started pulling it closed. "I'm going to leave you both, Tony help Chelle have her shower...just don't let go because she is still very unsteady for the injection. Call me when you are finished." He pulled it closed behind them.

Tony watched the door close and then trailed his thumb down her cheek and gave her a tiny little grin. "Ya think we can try and forget the rest of the world for a few minutes and just hold each other?"

Michelle shed a happy tear and smiled. "Already forgotten." She pulled him down to her lips by the back of his head. He slowly walked her back up against the wall. They kissed for a long time, barley stopping for air and their hands explored every inch of each other. He whispered into her ear, "God, I want to make love to you."

"I need you Tony...I want to be that close to you."

They rested their foreheads against each other and stared into one another's eyes. "It is too soon baby, we are not allowed and I'll hurt you."

Michelle let out a little wince, "I don't even care, it is worth it."

Tony had never wanted anything more. He was desperate to be that close to Michelle again. It felt like it had been so long and he thought about it all day every day. He loved her too much though to jeopardise her recovery, to rush her or potentially hurt her. He knew how incredibly emotional it was going to be when they were able to make love again. It took every ounce of will power he had to not just take her completely but instead he whispered whilst kissing her, "Baby it is going to be so incredible when we can make love again but it is also going to be so emotional and I need you to be physically 100 percent better. As much as it is killing me to wait, I will not risk anything or rush you. And I am never going to hurt you..."

"Do you know how much it means to me that you respect me like that Tony? That you care and even think that way? You never cease to amaze me and how truly special you are."

He rubbed his nose with hers and gave her a cheeky grin. "Doesn't mean we can't get up to trouble in other ways though?"

She laughed. "I am all for getting into trouble." She ran her hand down to his belt, "God, I have missed you so much..."

As he kissed her and explored her body with his hands as much as he tried to shut out the rest of the world he was very aware that he had a very short window of time before the injection really kicked in and she would become very hazy and unstable. He also couldn't just block out what had just happened and how Michelle must be feeling inside. He allowed himself to enjoy the few moments they had, keeping one eye open to watch her and make sure she was ok.

As she kissed down his neck and stomach she could feel herself coming unstable. She tried to lean against the wall a little more support, desperate to let this moment with Tony last as long as possible but with every passing second her vision was becoming blurry and she was having a harder time standing up. She could tell by now that Tony was holding most of her weight. He whispered into her ear how much he loved her, how beautiful she was and they stopped for a few moments as he ran his hand gently across her stomach and they spoke about their baby. It was still hard for them to believe that they were going to have a baby. At times like this Tony was so grateful as he knew that the baby was giving Michelle and himself that extra bit of strength to keep trying to get through all this.

When it got to the point that he was holding all of her weight and her eyes were opening and closing he told her they should get in the shower. She agreed and let him help her undress. As he watched her state get worse and worse he decided it would be safer if they sat down in the bath. Michelle went along with anything he suggested, she would do anything as long as she got to get under the water. Once he had her sitting in his arms in the bath he washed her hair and she held on to him tightly. They hadn't spoken now for a few minutes but it felt so intimate and special and he let his mind wonder for a few minutes into the future and what it would be like once all of this was behind them and he and Michelle were able to get on with their lives together.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by the feeling of Michelle's hand grasping his knee tightly. "I don't feel good Tony."

Her voice was shaky and her back slumped into his body hard. He made sure he had a tight grip on her. "I'll get out and into bed ok baby."

She nodded her head. He had to find a way of getting her out of the bath. He was pissed at himself for not getting her out sooner. His Dad had warned him she wasn't going to last long. He managed to get them both out of the bath and wrap a towel around her. She could barely stand and so he had her sit on the floor in the towel. He knelt beside her and lifted her chin with his finger. Her face had gone pale and her eyes were barely open. "Baby can you look at me?"

"I'm trying. I don't feel right."

"I know sweetheart. I need to get you back into a t-shirt and into bed." He started to dry them both. "Sorry baby, I should have got you back into bed quicker. I just..."

"You listened to what Danny said to me?"

His heart skipped a beat. He had no idea in this world how he could repair the damage Danny would have caused by speaking to her like that. It made him feel sick. "No sweetheart, I didn't listen to what he said, Ryan told me some of what was said..."

There was a knock on the door. "Tony? Are you about done? Michelle's blood pressure medication is here and I need to give it to her straight away."

Tony knew he was going to need his Dad's help to get her back up and into the bed. He grabbed his t-shirt and pulled it over her. "Come in Dad, I need your help."

Charlie walked in to see Michelle slumped on the floor, staring intently at Tony with tears falling down her now incredibly pale cheeks. "Oh my God. Chelle?"

Tony stepped to the other side of her and knelt down ready to pick her up. "I know Dad, I know...she just seemed to go downhill really quick."

Michelle switched her attention to Charlie. She was confused, he looked at her back like he knew there was something between them at the moment that needed to be resolved but they didn't know where to start. "Is Jess ok?" Her voice was flat.

Charlie knelt beside her as well. "No Chelle she isn't. She is unbelievably sorry for the way she spoke to you and for what she said. She is extremely confused and guilty at the moment."

"I don't care if Jess forever believes I did the wrong thing. I couldn't let that happen to her Charlie. I promised her, I promised Tony and I promised myself that I would do what I had to, to make sure she didn't have to go through that..."

"She knows that deep down inside Chelle, she just feels so guilty and is trying to find a way to work through it. I am so sorry for what happened before..."

Michelle waved her hand slightly and slowly shook her head. "You know my brother has always been a mess, even before we lost my Dad. I try to look after him and be there for him but I can never do the right thing in his eyes. He hates me right now. He is the only one with the guts to say it to my face though that I deserved what I got. I'll give him that much. But you...Jess...it actually hurts even more to feel like I am letting you guys down or that you are so angry with me..."

Charlie felt blind sighted; he didn't know how to register everything she had said or even how to come up with any kind of rational or reasonable answer. "You will talk to me Chelle. I will not let you continue to think the way you do. It is you that is angry at me, not the other way around..."

"What for?"

"You are angry that I gave you the injection and you are frustrated that I am forcing you to talk about what has happened to either us or Joanne."

"What else do you want to know Charlie? What the hell else am I supposed to be talking to you all about? Go on, just ask me and I will tell you..."

Tony sat there shocked that his Dad and Michelle were heading into a stand-off. He let it happen though because he wanted to hear what was said.

"Talking to us or Joanne doesn't have to be about recounting everything that happened, it is about helping you deal with your emotions and how you are feeling about this. When your brother spoke to you like that, you should have been able to open up to Tony at least straight away and feel like you had someone to lean on instead of going through it yourself..."

"It's not that easy! That's my brother! Would you, if you were in my position feel comfortable repeating how your family thinks you are scum. That you deserve everything that happened, that it is your fault. I already knew all that! I already feel those things about myself at the moment and to have him validate it for me was enough, I didn't need anyone else joining in on that one..."

"Joining in? We are on YOUR side here Michelle. Your brother makes me sick for the way he spoke to you and I tell you, nobody better let me near him any time soon. This is where you are not understanding, you are carrying guilt that you shouldn't be. It is my job to help you work through that. That's Tony's job, my job, all of our job. To make you hear what we are saying and to start believing it. Can't you see that the more you talk to us, the more we understand and then the more we can all heal and work through this...?"

"What do you want to know?"

"Those cigarette burns were used to..." He stopped when he saw Michelle's head spin around and look him dead in the eye. He continued, "That bruise on your thigh is not from a hand it is from a..." Michelle stopped him from finishing by yelling at him to stop. He saw her look on her face drop like he never had before and he heard Tony yell his name in question.

Michelle glared at him. "How do you know that?"

"Because I am a doctor Michelle."

Tony's voice boomed. "I don't understand. What do you mean?"

Michelle's voice came alive. "Don't! Stop it! Stop it! Don't say another word!" She burst into tears and began to try and pick herself up from the floor. Tony instinctively went to help her but Charlie held his hand up over her head to stop Tony.

Charlie hated what he was doing, but he also knew what he was doing. He needed Michelle to not only know that he had been able to piece together what had happened to her and therefore could understand it and he needed her to hit a point of letting it out instead of guarding every word she said.

Michelle, to his surprise managed to stand up, hunched but on her feet. Charlie rose with her. He had to put his hand across on Tony's chest to stop him from holding Michelle. He knew his son was torn and didn't totally understand what was happening but he didn't have time to explain it.

"Look at me Chelle."

She shook her head and she went from crying to sobbing. She kept her head down, "Stop it! Don't say it Charlie. STOP!" She went to try to push past him and he caught her in his arms. She tried to push him away and he pulled her back into his arms. She pushed away again and he just continued to do the same thing over and over. The harder she fought, the calmer he stayed. He spoke assertively but gently. "I won't, I won't. Stop fighting me Chelle."

Tony stood there in shock. He had never seen anything like this before. He could see what his Dad was doing. His heart shattered watching Michelle in so much pain but he knew that maybe, just maybe his Dad was actually really going to get somewhere with this.

Michelle was losing energy and as she gave Charlie another push in the chest away from her she begged him again to not think it and to not say it. He was finally able to put his hand on her cheek and force her to look at him. "I'm not saying it Chelle. I love you. Tony loves you. We all love you. You are safe."

She was hysterical. "You know how it all went, you can picture it. What are you thinking of me?"

"HOW amazing and brave you are!" He continued to hold her face as he repeated his words over and over. "See Chelle, it doesn't matter what I know, I love you. Trust in me Chelle. You are brave, you are strong and we are going to get you through this."

She finally raised her eyes and looked at him. He held her gaze and let his words sink in. She finally gave in and collapsed into his arms and started to wail. This is exactly what he had been hoping would happen. This is what she needed. She gripped him tighter and he held her tighter back. "You are not alone, I understand and we will get you through this. Let it all out Chelle. For once, let it out."

They stood like this for a long time. Michelle crying into Charlie's arms with Tony standing behind her rubbing her back. Charlie felt relieved on the inside that this was happening. He only just could make out what she was saying, "How long have you known how things happened?"

Charlie made sure to hold her tighter as he spoke. "The first time I ever saw the bruise on your thigh I knew there was a lot more force behind it then just a hand. From the report Joanne gave me helped me to understand a little more but also Chelle, I could tell from your behaviour. It is my job to understand things like this."

"I hate him Charlie. I hate him. Why did he do this? Why did this happen?"

Charlie took some deep breaths as he tried to find words. "I don't know Chelle. He is unstable. A monster and I am just so very sorry that he did this to you."

"I'm so angry; please don't make me talk to Joanne or anyone else. You get it, you understand it, isn't it enough that you and Tony already know so much?"

Charlie took a deep breath. "But you are not really talking to us Chelle. We are forcing everything out of you. Even when we think we have all the information we find out that you are still holding back."

Tony jumped in. "You need to stop trying to protect us from what happened to you baby. Don't you trust us?"

Michelle didn't move out of Charlie's arms, her head was now buried in his shoulder as she tried to hide her face from them. "It has nothing to do with trust, I just don't understand what good can come from you being even more hurt than you are now." Her voice started to trail off, "And if I am so disgusted and ashamed of what happened, I don't even want to know what you will think..."

Tony rubbed her back harder. He so badly wanted to take her from his Dad's arms into his but he knew they were getting somewhere and he wasn't going to make any moves that might change it. "All I think is how much I love you and how brave you were."

Charlie could tell how fast her breathing was and he was now basically taking all of her weight, he wanted to get her lying down. "Can we take you into the bedroom Chelle? Get you on the bed so you can rest..."

She shook her head, "But we have to go. We are not safe here anymore, we need to leave."

"We are. We are getting everything organized right now but I want you to rest until we have to move ok?"

She nodded her head slightly. When Charlie went to pull back a little so either he or Tony could pick her up and carry her into the bedroom she kept her grip tight on him, like she never wanted to let go. He looked at Tony who could tell from his expression he wasn't sure how to handle this. Tony stepped in closer and wrapped his arms around her so she would feel it. Slowly, Charlie turned Michelle's body into Tony's arms. At the last possible second, she moved her head from Charlie's shoulder straight into Tony's chest. She pushed it hard and he could tell she was not only fighting back tears but almost scared to look up at them. They took their time, knowing how fragile she was right now.

Once Michelle was in Tony's arms Charlie stepped back. He was about to start leading the way into the bedroom but the sight of the two of them together like that made him hesitate. She looked so small in his arms and as he picked her up gently, she still kept her face covered. He could her muffled cries and he tried to work out exactly where they went from here. He had broken Michelle down, he had forced her into this place and he knew he was responsible for getting her out of it. He wished for a moment that he could erase all the training Michelle had ever had and make her just like any other person, he hated that clearly the career she was in had forced her into believing she had to be so strong and brave all of the time. She had forgotten how to really open up and let people in. Now, when she needed help the most she was trying to use the strength she needed on the job to get her through this situation.

Tony nodded at him that he was ready and so Charlie turned and headed back for the bed. He could hear Michelle telling Tony again that they had to leave; they couldn't stay here like sitting ducks. Tony tried to reassure her that they would be leaving as soon as possible but Charlie could hear in his son's voice how scared and nervous he was as well. Tony also seemed a little in shock over what had just happened and Charlie knew he was itching to ask questions. Once Tony laid Michelle on the bed, she covered her face with her hands and Charlie watched as he immediately ran his hand down to the bruise on her thigh and then begin to inspect it, as though he was hoping the answer to what had happened was going to jump out at him.

Charlie leaned over Michelle and gently moved her hands away from her face. "Don't try and hide Chelle." She kept her eyes from meeting with his.

Tony's fingers were still tracing the bruise as he finally looked up at his Dad, "Where to from here Dad? Feels like we take one step forward and 2 back."

"I know it feels like that Tony but I promise you, all of this was not a step back. Actually it was a huge step forward..."

Michelle's voice sounded tired and defeated, "How do you figure that?"

Charlie looked at them both. They looked so tired and worn out. Tony was a little harder to read, most likely because he was still fuming about everything but also very worried about Michelle and scared. "Because what just happened Chelle was big progress..."

She didn't let him finish, "Why? Because Jess finally said how she really feels, my brother said how he feels and you let me know that you know a lot more than I realised? That once again I've broken down..."

Charlie could hear the anger in her voice at everything that had happened. The last thing they needed was for her to feel isolated or like everyone was ganging up on her. Unfortunately Tony beat him to responding to her and his voice sounded just as defensive. "Jess doesn't know what the hell she thinks at the moment, your brother is a fucking idiot and it is about time you...Fuck Chelle...were you ever going to tell me how bad he assaulted you?"

"You know what happened Tony!"

"I sure as hell didn't know he used some kind of weapon or something on you. I don't know whatever the hell it is that Dad has figured out but it must be pretty bad for you to get so upset at the thought he might say it out loud..."

Charlie shook his head. This was not how he intended for this to go. He should have known Tony wasn't going to let it go, he should have spoken to Tony privately first.

"Just forget it please!"

"No, I am not going to forget it. How the hell am I supposed to look after you when I don't know what I am dealing with?"

Michelle had tears running down her cheeks and she started to sit up a little. "Fine...fine. He had some kind of black army knife with a thick base. He rammed that into my thigh repeatedly. After he burnt me with the cigarettes he used the base of the knife to push into the burn. He ran the knife down my face as he threatened to slice me up if I didn't do what he wanted. Is that what you want to hear Tony? Does that help? Does that make all this easier for you?"

Tony's body sunk into the bed and he felt like he had been hit by a truck. His eyes glazed over as despair and anger flooded his system.

Charlie hadn't realised that Sam had used a knife on her. He had figured out it was an object that had caused the damage but now hearing that a knife had been used changed things. Before Tony had a chance to respond he jumped in, "Where did he touch you with the blade Chelle?"

She looked up at him confused, "What?"

"I mean, did he ever run the blade over an open wound, like your stomach?"

Michelle shook her head and looked down. "I don't know..."

"Think, this is really important. God knows how dirty that knife could have been. You could get an infection...anything. Even if there was the slightest bit of rust on that knife it opens up a whole new set of possibilities that we need to take precautions for and check. I need you to try and..."

Michelle's cries turned into sobs. "I don't know Charlie! I can't remember every single detail and exactly how it all happened. I wasn't taking notes, I was trying to get the hell out of there. I remember it being on my face, my stomach and my thighs but I am sorry, I am not just saying this but I honestly don't remember everywhere the knife touched me..."

Tony crawled up the bed and grabbed Michelle as she was speaking and pulled her into his arms. "It's ok, its ok baby...we can work it out from there, right Dad?" He looked up at his Dad and gave him a look as if to say that they had pushed her enough and they needed to stop upsetting her even more.

"Right...that's enough for me to work with..."

Michelle held Tony tightly but she looked unsure of what to do. "I don't want to think about it anymore...I can't think about it anymore, it makes me feels so sick and dirty..." She stopped talking when she caught Joanne slowly opening the door.

Joanne looked nervous but tried to keep her voice even and calm. "I thought I would check on you all. Jess is doing a lot better, although very upset at her outburst."

Charlie stood up tall, he wasn't sure how to handle this. He did a quick glance at Tony and Michelle. Words word never be able to describe how he felt when he saw the looks on their faces, their eyes said everything. "Umm, I'm glad Jess has settled down. Thank you for helping..."

"Not a problem, that is what I am here for." She trained her eyes on Michelle and Tony. "And how are you doing Michelle?"

Without a beat, "I'm fine." The she looked to Charlie, she used her eyes to beg him not to make her do this. Tony held her tightly and also looked to his Dad, he was unsure of what to do.

Charlie could feel everyone in the room staring at him. He felt like he should force Michelle and Tony to talk to Joanne. If he wasn't so emotionally attached to them, that is exactly what he would be doing right now however he didn't know if he could even bare the thought of Michelle going through it all again. He cleared his throat, knelt down so he was eye lever with her. "Chelle, do you think that maybe you would want to try giving this a go?"

She shook her head slightly but didn't respond yet. She wanted to respect Charlie and follow his orders as her doctor, without him she would be stuck scared to death in a hospital but she simply didn't think she was capable right now of talking to Joanne. Not to mention, Charlie and Tony were the only people in the world she trusted with this knowledge, no one else.

Before Michelle had a chance to respond, Joanne started to walk closer to the bed. "I know that you don't think you need to talk about the ordeal you have been through Michelle. I understand how emotionally draining everything has been but it would make you feel so much better to even make a start at opening up and working your way through this."

"I have. I've told Tony and Charlie what happened."

"Yes and that is great but that is your fiancé and his father. Sometimes it can be the most freeing feeling to speak to someone that is not so emotionally involved..."

Tony sat back a little but pulled Michelle into his arms as she spoke. "Yeah and I know that is what I would be saying if I was in your position but it's not like that. Charlie isn't just my fiancés father...he is...he has become..." She stopped and took a couple deep breaths. "Charlie has also been my doctor almost since the very start of this. You don't understand how much trust we have had to build with each other to get through this and Tony...he is the reason why I am getting through this. There isn't one thing I could tell anybody else that I couldn't tell Tony. And Tony gets all this, he deals with horrific situations at work every day and he knows how to handle..."

Joanne interrupted her, which neither Tony nor Charlie was too happy about. "I understand that you and Tony have very unique jobs, however Tony does not deal with his fiancé being brutally assaulted every day. This is very different. I don't mean to upset anyone by saying this but Tony also needs an outlet..."

Tony's voice was assertive. "No, no I don't. As long as Chelle is talking to me and I can see that she is ok then I am ok. As long as my Dad tells me that physically she is getting better than I am ok."

Joanne looked frustrated. She turned to Charlie. "We spoke about this earlier Charlie, I know that you were very keen for both Michelle and Tony to speak with me. It is very clear to me that a lot of walls are being put up here. This whole family is on one huge rollercoaster and with each passing hour things become more difficult and it becomes more obvious the help that is needed." She motioned her hands towards Michelle but kept looking at Tony. She tried to soften her tone, "Over the past few days Michelle has only revealed details about her attack when forced or "helped" with medication. Even I know that Michelle didn't tell me the whole truth about what happened to her in the clinic, that was clear from her injuries. I dread to think how much more horrible things Michelle was subjected to that we don't know about yet." She turned and looked at Michelle. "It is so completely normal for you to be responding the way you have Michelle and for you to feel the way you do but until the whole truth comes out this is going to be very hard for you to put behind you. I have been working with Jess to put the pieces together of what happened and with so many unanswered questions..."

Michelle cut her off, her voice sounding panicked, "You haven't told Jess anything have you?"

Joanne seemed shocked and taken off guard. "What do you mean?"

"I mean everything that was said in the clinic, the examination all of that...that was supposed to be confidential, please tell me you have not repeated any of that?"

"I haven't broken any patient confidentiality here Michelle but I am trying to help a young girl that is desperately trying to make sense of a situation. Jess has asked me and I have not told her anything but I can..."

Michelle was getting very defensive and pissed off with Joanne. "The last thing Jess needs is to know every little thing that happened. She has been through enough..."

"You can't protect her from..."

"YES, YES I can. Why the hell do you think I did what I did in the first place? I didn't allow Jess in that room so because I was trying to spare her from having to witness something like that. I know she has been through hell and I will do everything in the world I can to help her but I don't understand how her knowing every bit of the sexual abuse is going to help her healing process." Michelle sat up a little, her voice growing more and more frustrated and angry, "You were not there, you have no idea what Jess and I went through together. We thought we were going to die, we worked together to get out of that situation and she was so amazing and strong...she gave me strength. You can't take all of that away from us over some stupid little details."

Charlie and Tony thought that Joanne would be stuck for words, they sure as hell were. Instead she fired right back. "You were both the victims here Michelle. You may have protected Jess and saved her but no one was able to protect you and..."

Michelle went to kneel up but lost her balance and Tony had to sit up behind her and wrap his arms around her. None of them had noticed that Jess and Natalie were now in the doorway. Michelle let loose. "How dare you say that? Fuck! This just proves you don't understand! What the hell do you mean no one was able to protect me? This whole damn family did! Jess was so brave, bracer than you are giving credit for. She blew me away the entire time. She ran back with me when bullets were being fired. She helped me push the brake lights out of the trunk; she held me and gave me the strength to get through the whole fucking thing. I did what I did because I love her. She is a sister to me and I didn't want her having to go through what I did but she was the reason I got through it. And Tony...he had my back the whole time, just like the rest of this family. Tony wouldn't stop even when he had been shot. He never gave up on us and over and over he risked his life for mine so don't you go saying no one was able to protect me."

Jess pushed the door wide open and came flying across the rooms onto the bed and into Michelle's arms. It all happened so quick that she took everyone by surprise and almost pushed Tony and Michelle over in the process but Tony was able to keep them steady. She hugged Michelle tightly. "I am so sorry for what I said before. Do you really mean what you just said? About me being brave and giving you strength?"

Michelle had tears in her eyes. "More than you will ever know Jess. That's what I have been trying to get you to understand this whole time. We were a team out there together. We got put in a shitty situation but because we stuck together like we did, we are both still here. Look at the way you tried to get up when Ashley was firing at us? You have more guts than most the people on our tactical teams."

Jess just looked Michelle dead in the eyes. "Thank you. I'll never be able to say it enough but thank you. We were a team. You showed me how to be brave Chelle."

Michelle gave her a cheeky grin. "It's in your Almeida blood, trust me!"

Both Charlie and Tony were still stunned by everything. Tony was proud beyond belief at the way Michelle had stood up for herself and his sister. He was proud of Jess. He squeezed them both tighter, scared if he opened his mouth right this second he would burst into tears. After a few moments, Jess pulled herself off them both and sat at the end of the bed. They all stared at one another.

Finally Michelle looked up. "Charlie, I did make a promise to you when you got me out of the hospital that I would do as you asked. I'm sorry I am being a difficult patient. If YOU want me to do this then I will for you because the last thing I want to do is make you feel like I am not respecting that promise I made."

Charlie could have burst into tears on the spot. He couldn't help it, he leaned over and kissed her on the forehead and spoke quietly to her. "But you really are not up for it are you? Be honest..."

She shook her head and then pulled him down closer so that when she whispered only he and Tony would be able to hear. "Not at the moment. I honestly don't feel capable of it. I am really sore, I think I am bleeding a bit and I am so drained."

Charlie gave her a wink and put his hand on Tony's shoulder as he looked up at Joanne. "I think we will give this a miss for now Joanne. I appreciate everything you have done, however I am going to respect Tony and Michelle's decision right now and give them some time to recover and rest."

Joanne nodded her head. "I understand. I am available on the phone when you need me."

They all thanked her as she walked out. Michelle sunk back into the bed, relief washed across her face and Charlie instantly knew he had made the right call. Tony leant down and kissed Michelle on the lips. "Wow sweetheart, you told her. I was speechless..."

"You speechless?" She gave him a tiny grin and the other laughed.

He smiled and bit his bottom lip. "Yeah so that is telling you something. I swear you just continue to blow me away with how strong you are."

"I wouldn't have had the guts to do it if I didn't know you were right there with me."

He kissed her again and pulled her back into his arms. "Is it possible for me to feel like I just continually keep falling deeper and deeper in love with you?"

Natalie and Charlie looked at each other and smiled. Seeing their son like this was such a wonderful feeling. The fact that he spoke to Michelle like that and in front of them was amazing. This time a year ago they felt like it was a battle just for him to tell them how his day was or how he was feeling. Michelle made him such a happier person and they loved that. Michelle and Tony were too caught up with each other to notice the looks but Jess could see and found herself nodding in agreement, although nothing had even been said out loud. When Natalie and Charlie saw that, the 3 of them all laughed.

They enjoyed each other's company for a few more moments before Charlie told the girls he needed to exam Michelle and that he would come join them for a movie in a few minutes. Natalie gave Michelle a hug and kiss before she left and told her how much she loved her. Just before Natalie was out of the room Michelle stopped her and called her back over. She sounded serious and Natalie looked at everyone wondering what this could be. She sat on the bed and Michelle took her hand.

"Umm Natalie...I know this is weird timing and all that but in the past few weeks you have been the best mom, the only mom I have ever had. I know you have so much on your plate and you are so busy. I was wondering if you would..." She got too nervous and stopped. This was hard and she didn't think she could handle a rejection.

Natalie egged her on, "What is it dear? Anything?"

Michelle just blurted it out so fast it took all of them a few seconds to register what she had said. "Can you help me with the wedding? Like can you do all the 'mom' stuff? Like planning, dress shopping...will you help me? Will you be a part of it with me cause I couldn't imagine doing it with anyone else?" Michelle looked so nervous when she stopped speaking she dropped her head.

Natalie laughed. She lifted Michelle's chin. "You Michelle are going to have the most fabulous wedding and I would be honoured to help you out in every way possible. I cam already picture it now, days and days of shopping and lunches...we are going to make this the most special day ever for you. I would love to and you have no idea how happy you have just made me by asking."

Michelle sighed in relief. "Wow, thank you."

"No, thank you! Now hurry up and get better so we can get on with all this. How about I pop out to the shops," She turned and gave Tony a grin "with an agent...and pick up some magazines and books for us to start working through and looking at?"

Jess perked up. "Can I come mom? I can help you pick."

Michelle smiled. "You had better because as my maid of honour you had better know what is going on."

The room fell silent. Jess had tears streaming down her face but a smile so large it was infectious to everyone in the room. "Did you just say what I think you said? You want me to be your maid of honour?"

"It would be an honour to have you next to me. So will you?"

"HELL YES!" She ran over and gave Michelle another huge hug. Of course now it took Charlie another 15 minutes to get the girls out of the room because they all started to discuss everything and were so excited. He hated to break up this special moment but Michelle was fading fast, he was concerned about her comment about bleeding before and he needed to make sure she was ok.

With Tony's help, he got the girls set up with Johnson to go to the store and then he came back to Michelle. She was getting very pale and looked frustrated that she couldn't get comfortable. "Ok time for a check of everything..."

"And some pain stuff?"

He smiled, "Yes, let's do that first."

Tony went to help Michelle by pulling her tracksuits pants down for the injection but she stopped him. "What's wrong?"

He couldn't believe it when she immediately became extremely vulnerable and upset. "Baby?"

Charlie sat next to her. "The bleeding Chelle?"

She just nodded her head. Tony put his arm around her shoulder and kissed the side of her head. "Sweetheart, I love you. What can I do? What is going to make this the most comfortable for you?"

"Can you guys please give me the injection with lots of sedatives and give it enough time to work and then I know you are going to have to do whatever you need to do but can you just wait until the injection kicks in completely?"

Charlie nodded his head. "Of course. Now, we've basically just kicked Joanne's ass out of here and you need an examination..."

"No Joanne...and I know I need an examination, I can tell something isn't quite right." There was silence from all 3 of them as they thought about what this meant. Tony was fine with it, he didn't care as long as Michelle got checked and the help she needed and from who she felt comfortable with. Charlie was already in doctor mode so all he needed to know was that Michelle understood what this meant and was ok with it.

"You understand what I will need to do right Michelle? From this moment there is only your fiancé and Dr. Almeida in the room."

She nodded her head, she seemed confident with her decision, just very vulnerable and nervous about what it meant but she knew she would feel that way with anyone. "Yes. You really stuck up for me before Charlie, even though I know you wanted me to talk to Joanne. You stuck up for me. I trust you more than anyone." She grabbed Tony's hand. "You're not going anywhere right?"

He kissed her sweetly on the lips. "Won't leave your side for a second."

Charlie nodded his head and then kind of smiled. "I didn't really like the way she spoke to you just then anyway Michelle. She is very good at what she does but I don't think she is the right person for you or this situation. Most importantly, the trust goes both ways. I want you better but the 3 of us are going to have to keep talking and working out the best ways to handle each hurdle that comes along."

As Charlie rolled Michelle to the side to give her the injection in her bottom, Tony went out to remind the other agent at the house that Ryan Chappelle should be here shortly. He told him they couldn't be disturbed for awhile so to txt him when Ryan had arrived and Tony would come out when he was ready. He rushed back into the room, climbed on the bed and pulled her back into his arms.

They talked about baby names for a few minutes as the drugs started to work. Tony loved it, he got to hold her, kiss her and she spent the whole time trailing her hand through his hair and down his arm. Once it got to the point her eyes were almost closed and her hand stopped moving they knew it was time. Tony looked up at Charlie. "I think they are working, thanks Dad. Now what do we do?"

Charlie ran his finger over Michelle's eye. "You still with us Chelle? I need you a little awake for this?"

She nodded her head and raised her hand a tiny but in a thumbs up shape.

Charlie took a deep breath. Michelle turned her head to the side again and tucked it into Tony's shoulder. Charlie hated how vulnerable, nervous and exposed she must be feeling. "Let's start with the easy stuff, your stomach..."

**Thanks for reading. I hope you liked this chapter, even though it was drama and pretty sad. You know I'll get them to a happy place...**

**Please if you have read this, take the time to review and let me know what you think, I really appreciate it:) THANKS!**


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